The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Raises Stock Position in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 16.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,164 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,115 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Watsco were worth $8,063,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Comerica Bank raised its holdings in shares of Watsco by 36.3% in the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 45,756 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $15,417,000 after purchasing an additional 12,190 shares in the last quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Watsco by 70.0% during the 4th quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC now owns 166,172 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $55,992,000 after purchasing an additional 68,442 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its stake in shares of Watsco by 64.1% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 186,875 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $62,968,000 after purchasing an additional 72,977 shares in the last quarter. Intrinsic Value Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Watsco during the fourth quarter worth $586,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in Watsco by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 21,807 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $7,349,000 after buying an additional 1,382 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on WSO shares. DA Davidson cut their price target on Watsco from $385.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Watsco from $370.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Robert W. Baird set a $400.00 target price on Watsco in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $395.50.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of WSO opened at $334.27 on Wednesday. Watsco, Inc. has a 1-year low of $300.66 and a 1-year high of $459.00. The stock has a market cap of $13.59 billion, a PE ratio of 28.99 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $377.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $391.80.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $4.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.41 by ($0.41). Watsco had a return on equity of 14.40% and a net margin of 6.53%.The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.52 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 16th were paid a dividend of $3.30 per share. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 114.48%.

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.