Watsco, Inc. $WSO Shares Sold by Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. trimmed its position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 18.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 10,555 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 2,328 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Watsco were worth $3,557,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSO. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in Watsco in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Watsco in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its position in Watsco by 45.0% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 174 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its position in Watsco by 151.4% in the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 181 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Advocates LLC acquired a new stake in Watsco in the third quarter worth approximately $74,000. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Stephens increased their target price on shares of Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Mizuho set a $425.00 target price on shares of Watsco in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Watsco from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $399.83.

Watsco Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:WSO opened at $368.66 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $398.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $382.43. Watsco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $323.05 and a 12-month high of $494.94. The company has a market cap of $14.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.59 and a beta of 1.04.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.14. Watsco had a net margin of 6.85% and a return on equity of 15.31%. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.93 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 16th were issued a $3.30 dividend. This is a boost from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 109.54%.

Watsco Company Profile

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.