Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 9.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,400 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Watsco were worth $1,112,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WSO. LGT Group Foundation grew its stake in shares of Watsco by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 15,477 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $7,170,000 after purchasing an additional 1,107 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its holdings in shares of Watsco by 19.8% during the 2nd quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 32,799 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $15,194,000 after purchasing an additional 5,426 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC purchased a new position in shares of Watsco during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $310,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Watsco during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Watsco during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $372,000. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Watsco Price Performance

Watsco stock opened at $476.71 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $478.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $458.65. Watsco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $338.58 and a 1 year high of $520.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.67 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 3.21.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $4.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by ($0.21). Watsco had a net margin of 7.02% and a return on equity of 18.55%. The company had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.42 EPS. Watsco’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 16th were paid a dividend of $2.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 16th. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on WSO shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Watsco from $460.00 to $522.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Watsco from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $433.71.

Watsco Profile

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.