BNP Paribas Asset Management Holding S.A. Has $422,000 Stock Holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

BNP Paribas Asset Management Holding S.A. grew its position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 18.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 984 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Asset Management Holding S.A.’s holdings in Watsco were worth $422,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Watsco by 0.5% during the third quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 1,655,946 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $625,484,000 after purchasing an additional 7,723 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Watsco by 0.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,310,201 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $476,973,000 after acquiring an additional 9,201 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL increased its holdings in shares of Watsco by 0.7% during the third quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 770,476 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $291,024,000 after buying an additional 4,997 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Watsco by 2.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 648,662 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $245,013,000 after purchasing an additional 16,589 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Markel Group Inc. increased its position in Watsco by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 556,750 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $238,551,000 after acquiring an additional 11,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Watsco in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Watsco from $420.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Watsco presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $404.25.

Watsco Stock Down 0.5 %

WSO traded down $2.29 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $483.11. 29,251 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 332,028. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $439.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $412.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.47 billion, a PE ratio of 37.36 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 2.92. Watsco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $315.17 and a 1 year high of $488.70.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by ($0.09). Watsco had a return on equity of 19.26% and a net margin of 7.03%. The firm had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.83 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.23 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th were given a dividend of $2.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 12th. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. This is a positive change from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Watsco news, Director John Alexander Macdonald sold 5,334 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.41, for a total value of $2,487,830.94. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 774 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.85, for a total transaction of $366,759.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $838,714.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John Alexander Macdonald sold 5,334 shares of Watsco stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.41, for a total value of $2,487,830.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 12.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Watsco

Watsco, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the distribution of air conditioning, heating, refrigeration equipment, and related parts and supplies in the United States and internationally. The company distributes equipment, including residential ducted and ductless air conditioners, such as gas, electric, and oil furnaces; commercial air conditioning and heating equipment systems; and other specialized equipment.