OP Asset Management Ltd Makes New Investment in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

OP Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 3,795 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,381,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 710 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $239,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Watsco by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,559 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $525,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC raised its holdings in Watsco by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 7,814 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,633,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Modern Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Watsco by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 783 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $346,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Watsco by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 695 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $234,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Stock Performance

NYSE:WSO opened at $410.75 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $401.17 and its 200-day moving average is $388.38. Watsco, Inc. has a 52-week low of $323.05 and a 52-week high of $494.94. The company has a market cap of $16.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.09 and a beta of 1.05.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.14. Watsco had a net margin of 6.85% and a return on equity of 15.31%. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.93 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.66 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 16th were given a $3.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 16th. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. This is an increase from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is 109.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WSO shares. DA Davidson began coverage on Watsco in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $385.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen raised Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Stephens lifted their price target on Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Watsco currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $397.71.

About Watsco

Watsco, Inc is the largest distributor of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC/R) equipment, parts and supplies in the United States. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, the company operates a network of more than 600 branches across the continental U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. Watsco serves residential and commercial contractors by providing essential components for climate control systems, including air conditioners, furnaces, heat pumps, coils, refrigerants, controls and electrical and piping supplies.

Founded in 1947, Watsco has grown from a single regional distributor into an industry leader through a combination of organic expansion, acquisitions and strategic partnerships with original equipment manufacturers such as Carrier, Trane, Goodman and Lennox.