The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Increases Stock Holdings in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 16.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 22,164 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,115 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.05% of Watsco worth $8,063,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSO. CWM LLC raised its position in Watsco by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 710 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $239,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of Watsco by 2.7% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,115 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $406,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Watsco by 2.0% during the fourth 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. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC increased its stake in shares of Watsco by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 7,814 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,633,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Modern Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Watsco by 5.2% during the second quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 783 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $346,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Trading Up 5.1%

Shares of NYSE:WSO opened at $334.27 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.99 and a beta of 1.05. Watsco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $300.66 and a 12-month high of $459.00. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $377.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $391.80.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $4.00 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.41 by ($0.41). The company had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.14 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 14.40% and a net margin of 6.53%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.52 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 16th were given a $3.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 16th. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Watsco’s payout ratio is presently 114.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WSO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird set a $400.00 price target on shares of Watsco in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of Watsco from $385.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $395.50.

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.