Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Has $10.06 Million Stock Holdings in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd trimmed its holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,845 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,546 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd owned about 0.07% of Watsco worth $10,056,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in Watsco during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Watsco in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new position in shares of Watsco in the third quarter worth about $49,000. First Horizon Corp bought a new position in shares of Watsco in the third quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Watsco during the third quarter worth approximately $57,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSO opened at $432.87 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $17.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.92 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a 50 day moving average of $398.89 and a 200-day moving average of $377.96. Watsco, Inc. has a one year low of $323.05 and a one year high of $496.25.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.93 earnings per share. Watsco’s revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 16th were paid a $3.30 dividend. This is an increase from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 16th. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 109.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Watsco from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. 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 report on Wednesday, January 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Mizuho set a $425.00 target price on Watsco in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $399.83.

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.