PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab Invests $6.53 Million in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 19,031 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,528,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Watsco by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 710 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $239,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Watsco by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,559 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $525,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Watsco by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 601 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $243,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Applied Capital LLC FL increased its position in shares of Watsco by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Applied Capital LLC FL now owns 6,993 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,827,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Profund Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Watsco by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 805 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on WSO shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Watsco from $460.00 to $370.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Stephens increased their target price on shares of Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Watsco from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research 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, Mizuho set a $425.00 target price on shares of Watsco in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $399.83.

Watsco Trading Down 3.2%

WSO opened at $414.97 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.85 billion, a PE ratio of 34.44 and a beta of 1.12. Watsco, Inc. has a 1-year low of $323.05 and a 1-year high of $496.25. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $398.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $377.09.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.49 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 6.85% and a return on equity of 15.31%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.93 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.62 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 16th were given a $3.30 dividend. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 16th. This is a boost from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is 109.54%.

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.