Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Decreases Stake in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. reduced its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 18.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,555 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 2,328 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Watsco were worth $3,557,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WSO. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Watsco by 46.4% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 20,306 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $6,842,000 after purchasing an additional 6,440 shares in the last quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Watsco in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $240,000. Forsta AP Fonden increased its stake in Watsco by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 8,600 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,898,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC. increased its stake in Watsco by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC. now owns 34,133 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $11,501,000 after purchasing an additional 3,788 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Watsco in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $110,853,000. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Watsco Stock Performance

NYSE:WSO opened at $368.66 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $14.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.59 and a beta of 1.04. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $398.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $382.43. Watsco, Inc. has a one year low of $323.05 and a one year high of $494.94.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 15.31% and a net margin of 6.85%.Watsco’s quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.93 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.64 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 16th were issued a dividend of $3.30 per share. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. This is a boost from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 109.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Stephens raised their price target on Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Mizuho set a $425.00 price target on Watsco in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Watsco from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Watsco presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $399.83.

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.