Mirabaud Asset Management Ltd Has $1.50 Million Stock Position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Mirabaud Asset Management Ltd lessened its stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 8.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,166 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 279 shares during the quarter. Mirabaud Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Watsco were worth $1,503,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its stake in shares of Watsco by 32.2% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 4,258 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,094,000 after purchasing an additional 1,038 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Watsco by 5.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 51,590 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $25,645,000 after buying an additional 2,738 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Watsco by 9.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 464,061 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $228,263,000 after buying an additional 41,845 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in Watsco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $10,446,000. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc lifted its position in shares of Watsco by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 139,157 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $65,966,000 after buying an additional 18,279 shares during the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Loop Capital boosted their target price on Watsco from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of Watsco in a report on Friday, January 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Watsco from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $486.25.

Watsco Price Performance

WSO stock opened at $477.78 on Friday. Watsco, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $396.82 and a fifty-two week high of $571.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.06 and a beta of 1.00. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $496.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $499.29.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.24. Watsco had a net margin of 7.04% and a return on equity of 17.59%. The business had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. Research analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $3.00 dividend. This is a boost from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.70. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Watsco’s payout ratio is 81.51%.

About Watsco

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.