Capital International Investors Buys 2,014,233 Shares of Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 741.4% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,285,895 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 2,014,233 shares during the quarter. Capital International Investors owned about 0.06% of Watsco worth $924,187,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of WSO. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its position in shares of Watsco by 2,366.7% in the 3rd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 74 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its position in shares of Watsco by 242.9% during the second quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 72 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Watsco during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Watsco by 4,700.0% in the second quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 96 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new stake in Watsco in the third quarter worth $49,000. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Watsco Trading Down 3.7%

Shares of NYSE:WSO opened at $379.47 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $392.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $377.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.33 and a beta of 1.03. Watsco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $323.05 and a 12-month high of $521.70.

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

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Friday, January 16th were paid a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 16th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Watsco’s payout ratio is presently 99.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Watsco from $460.00 to $370.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Mizuho set a $425.00 target price on shares of Watsco in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Watsco in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Zacks Research raised shares of Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Watsco in a research note on Monday, January 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $370.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Watsco has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $409.00.

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.