Watsco, Inc. $WSO Shares Sold by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp cut its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 46.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 58,932 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 51,228 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Watsco were worth $19,871,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Watsco by 4.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,927 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,013,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its position in shares of Watsco by 95.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 1,297 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $573,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Watsco by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 50,442 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $22,275,000 after purchasing an additional 3,570 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its stake in Watsco by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 16,258 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $7,180,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Watsco by 12.0% during the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 523 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $221,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on WSO shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Watsco from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Watsco in a research note on Monday, January 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $370.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Mizuho set a $425.00 target price on shares of Watsco in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $399.83.

Watsco Stock Performance

Shares of WSO opened at $437.69 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.77 billion, a PE ratio of 36.32 and a beta of 1.06. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $398.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $376.93. Watsco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $323.05 and a 52 week high of $496.25.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.93 EPS. Watsco’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 16th were issued a dividend of $3.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 16th. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. This is a positive change from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 109.00%.

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.