Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys New Stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 11,257 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,342,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Watsco during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Quarry LP raised its stake in Watsco by 57.9% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 90 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in Watsco in the 4th quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Watsco during the 4th quarter worth about $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSO has been the subject of several research reports. Loop Capital increased their target price on shares of Watsco from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Watsco from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Raymond James began coverage on Watsco in a research report on Friday, January 17th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $486.25.

Watsco Trading Down 2.5 %

NYSE WSO opened at $461.08 on Wednesday. Watsco, Inc. has a 1-year low of $396.82 and a 1-year high of $571.42. The company has a market capitalization of $18.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.80 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $495.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $498.77.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 17.59% and a net margin of 7.04%. On average, analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.60%. This is a boost from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.70. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.57%.

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.