SEB Asset Management AB Acquires New Holdings in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

SEB Asset Management AB bought a new position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 6,993 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,544,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WSO. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 103.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,642,893 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,564,423,000 after purchasing an additional 2,356,998 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in Watsco by 60,779.4% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 599,662 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $202,056,000 after purchasing an additional 598,677 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Watsco in the fourth quarter worth about $110,853,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Watsco by 202.6% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 472,182 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $159,102,000 after purchasing an additional 316,129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its position in shares of Watsco by 12,054.4% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 173,078 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $69,975,000 after buying an additional 171,654 shares during the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Watsco Stock Down 0.8%

WSO stock opened at $359.06 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.60 billion, a PE ratio of 29.80 and a beta of 1.02. Watsco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $323.05 and a 52 week high of $493.66. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $385.20 and a 200 day moving average of $393.43.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.14. Watsco had a net margin of 6.85% and a return on equity of 15.31%. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.93 EPS. Watsco’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 16th will be paid a $3.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 16th. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 109.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on WSO shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Watsco from $370.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of Watsco in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $385.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Stephens boosted their target price on Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $402.71.

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.