Mirabaud Asset Management Ltd Boosts Stock Holdings in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Mirabaud Asset Management Ltd boosted its holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 37.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,691 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,001 shares during the quarter. Mirabaud Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Watsco were worth $1,611,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Watsco during the 1st quarter worth $266,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Watsco by 62.8% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 468,875 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $238,329,000 after purchasing an additional 180,951 shares in the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Watsco by 23.1% in the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 16,218 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $8,244,000 after purchasing an additional 3,045 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new position in Watsco during the second quarter valued at $573,000. Finally, Amundi grew its holdings in Watsco by 5.2% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 26,348 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $12,977,000 after purchasing an additional 1,313 shares during the period. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Watsco Stock Up 0.2%

WSO opened at $351.96 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.27 billion, a PE ratio of 27.50 and a beta of 0.93. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $382.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $425.43. Watsco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $344.52 and a 52 week high of $571.41.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The construction company reported $3.98 EPS for the quarter. Watsco had a return on equity of 16.48% and a net margin of 7.04%.The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 16th were issued a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 16th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Watsco’s payout ratio is 93.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Watsco from $425.00 to $390.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Watsco from $505.00 to $460.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Watsco from $525.00 to $400.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Watsco from $400.00 to $360.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $435.00.

Watsco Profile

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.