DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Grows Stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 0.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 38,869 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale owned 0.10% of Watsco worth $19,313,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in Watsco by 50.9% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 185,633 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $80,188,000 after purchasing an additional 62,593 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Watsco in the first quarter valued at $822,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Watsco by 256.3% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,374 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,510,000 after buying an additional 2,427 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in Watsco in the first quarter worth approximately $491,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Watsco by 22.3% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 135,621 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $59,020,000 after acquiring an additional 24,696 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Watsco from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Watsco from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of Watsco stock opened at $473.20 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $482.11 and a 200 day moving average of $474.99. Watsco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $343.04 and a 52 week high of $520.41. The company has a market cap of $19.07 billion, a PE ratio of 36.40 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 3.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $4.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.73 by ($0.51). Watsco had a return on equity of 17.77% and a net margin of 6.99%. The company had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.35 earnings per share. Watsco’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 16th will be paid a dividend of $2.70 per share. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 16th. Watsco’s payout ratio is currently 83.08%.

Watsco Company 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.