Credit Agricole S A Has $2.96 Million Position in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Key Points

• Credit Agricole S A increased its stake in Watsco, Inc. by 33.6% in Q1, holding 5,820 shares worth approximately $2.96 million.
• Watsco reported Q2 earnings per share of $4.52, missing expectations and seeing a 3.6% revenue decline year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $3.00 per share, representing a dividend yield of 2.9% and a payout ratio of 92.02%.

Credit Agricole S A boosted its holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) by 33.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,820 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,465 shares during the period. Credit Agricole S A's holdings in Watsco were worth $2,958,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA acquired a new position in Watsco during the first quarter worth $221,000. Maven Securities LTD acquired a new position in Watsco during the first quarter worth $457,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its stake in Watsco by 16.3% during the first quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 492 shares of the construction company's stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Korea Investment CORP lifted its stake in Watsco by 5.4% during the first quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 22,785 shares of the construction company's stock worth $11,582,000 after purchasing an additional 1,174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Watsco by 0.7% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 335,584 shares of the construction company's stock worth $170,577,000 after purchasing an additional 2,236 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $505.00 price objective on Watsco in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised Watsco from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Watsco from $455.00 to $450.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Watsco from $445.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $484.17.

Watsco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSO traded down $6.99 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $401.69. The stock had a trading volume of 89,043 shares, compared to its average volume of 301,751. Watsco, Inc. has a 1-year low of $397.73 and a 1-year high of $571.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.89 and a beta of 0.95. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $443.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $468.05.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $4.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.84 by ($0.32). The business had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 16.96% and a net margin of 7.08%.The company's quarterly revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.49 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 16th were paid a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 16th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Watsco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 92.02%.

Watsco Profile

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.