Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $13.33 Million Stock Position 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 its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 32,978 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,592 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Watsco were worth $13,333,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its position in shares of Watsco by 2,366.7% in the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 74 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Watsco by 242.9% during the 2nd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 72 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Watsco during the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Watsco by 4,700.0% in the second quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 96 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Watsco by 1,300.0% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 112 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Watsco from $460.00 to $370.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Watsco in a research note on Friday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Watsco from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Watsco in a research note on Monday, January 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $370.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $409.00.

Watsco Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of WSO stock opened at $411.45 on Tuesday. Watsco, Inc. has a twelve month low of $323.05 and a twelve month high of $533.07. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $386.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $377.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.98 and a beta of 1.03.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.62 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 6.87% and a return on equity of 15.49%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.37 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

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