Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $13.33 Million Stock Holdings in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 12.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 32,978 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,592 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.08% of Watsco worth $13,333,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Watsco by 2.2% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,485,996 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $656,036,000 after acquiring an additional 31,484 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in Watsco by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 389,104 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $171,836,000 after acquiring an additional 1,234 shares in the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its position in Watsco by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 356,844 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $143,748,000 after acquiring an additional 36,010 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Watsco by 106.4% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 296,170 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $130,801,000 after purchasing an additional 152,662 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Watsco by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 276,750 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $111,890,000 after purchasing an additional 14,013 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WSO. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Friday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Watsco from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Zacks Research raised Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Watsco in a research report on Monday, January 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $370.00 price target for the company. Finally, Mizuho set a $425.00 price target on shares of Watsco in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $409.00.

Watsco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WSO opened at $411.45 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $386.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $377.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.69 billion, a PE ratio of 33.98 and a beta of 1.03. Watsco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $323.05 and a 52 week high of $533.07.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The construction company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by ($0.26). The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.62 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 15.49% and a net margin of 6.87%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.37 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 16th were given a dividend of $3.00 per share. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is 99.09%.

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.