Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI lifted its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) by 107.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,517 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,417 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI's holdings in Watsco were worth $4,036,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Watsco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $118,312,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Watsco during the fourth quarter worth approximately $104,533,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Watsco in the 4th quarter valued at $63,603,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Watsco by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,371,535 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $649,957,000 after purchasing an additional 118,713 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 542.2% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 110,752 shares of the construction company's stock worth $52,484,000 after buying an additional 93,506 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
WSO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Watsco in a report on Monday, April 14th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $515.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Watsco from $475.00 to $455.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Watsco from $560.00 to $540.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen raised Watsco from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Mizuho set a $490.00 price objective on Watsco in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $480.83.
Get Our Latest Analysis on Watsco
Watsco Stock Down 0.2%
NYSE:WSO traded down $1.11 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $454.98. 252,686 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 254,528. Watsco, Inc. has a twelve month low of $439.08 and a twelve month high of $571.42. The business has a 50-day moving average of $485.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $496.42. The company has a market capitalization of $18.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.34 and a beta of 1.11.
Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.29 by ($0.36). The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.66 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 7.04% and a return on equity of 17.59%. The business's revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.17 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Watsco Increases Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th were paid a dividend of $3.00 per share. This is an increase from Watsco's previous quarterly dividend of $2.70. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 15th. Watsco's dividend payout ratio is presently 92.24%.
About Watsco
(
Free Report)
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.
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