EULAV Asset Management Has $24.05 Million Position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

EULAV Asset Management raised its holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 98.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 48,900 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,300 shares during the quarter. EULAV Asset Management’s holdings in Watsco were worth $24,053,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Watsco by 256.3% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,374 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,510,000 after purchasing an additional 2,427 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in shares of Watsco during the 1st quarter worth about $491,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Watsco during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,109,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Watsco by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,411,894 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,473,836,000 after purchasing an additional 146,305 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Markel Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Watsco by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 571,250 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $264,626,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WSO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Watsco from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Watsco from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th.

Watsco Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of Watsco stock opened at $533.39 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $495.46 and a 200-day moving average of $483.68. Watsco, Inc. has a 1-year low of $373.33 and a 1-year high of $545.49. The company has a market cap of $21.54 billion, a PE ratio of 41.22 and a beta of 0.88.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $4.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.73 by ($0.51). The firm had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 17.77% and a net margin of 6.99%. The business’s revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.35 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 16th were given a dividend of $2.70 per share. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is 83.46%.

About Watsco

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.