Watsco, Inc. $WSO Shares Bought by AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc grew its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 4.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 121,191 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,966 shares during the quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc owned approximately 0.30% of Watsco worth $48,866,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Watsco during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its holdings in Watsco by 2,366.7% in the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 74 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its position in Watsco by 242.9% during the second quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 72 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Watsco during the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Watsco in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WSO opened at $384.14 on Monday. Watsco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $323.05 and a 1 year high of $535.40. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $352.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $386.24. The firm has a market cap of $15.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.01 and a beta of 1.03.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The construction company reported $3.98 earnings per share for the quarter. Watsco had a return on equity of 16.48% and a net margin of 7.04%.The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter. As a group, research analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Friday, January 16th will be paid a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 16th. Watsco’s payout ratio is 93.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on WSO. Wolfe Research set a $349.00 price objective on Watsco in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Watsco in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Zacks Research downgraded Watsco from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Watsco from $460.00 to $370.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on Watsco from $400.00 to $370.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Watsco has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $404.14.

Watsco Profile

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.