Nykredit A S Purchases New Shares in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Key Points

• Nykredit A S acquired 12,811 shares of Watsco during the second quarter, valued at approximately $5.34 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 89.71% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally cautious outlook, with Watsco receiving an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $395.50; individual targets range from $330 to $485.
• Watsco’s latest quarterly results fell short of expectations, with EPS of $4.00 versus a $4.41 consensus estimate and revenue of $2.10 billion. The company declared a $3.30 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 4.2% yield, despite a payout ratio above 100%.

Nykredit A S acquired a new position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 12,811 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $5,339,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Corient Private Wealth LP raised its holdings in Watsco by 1.2% during the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 144,919 shares of the construction company's stock worth $60,392,000 after purchasing an additional 1,703 shares in the last quarter. Giverny Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Watsco in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,494,000. Amundi boosted its holdings in Watsco by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 50,125 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $20,889,000 after purchasing an additional 2,558 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Watsco by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,954 shares of the construction company's stock worth $815,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Finally, Saudi Central Bank increased its position in Watsco by 89.8% during the 2nd quarter. Saudi Central Bank now owns 2,446 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,019,000 after purchasing an additional 1,157 shares during the period. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $400.00 target price on shares of Watsco in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Watsco from $370.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Watsco from $385.00 to $330.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Watsco in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $485.00 target price on shares of Watsco in a report on Monday, August 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Watsco has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $395.50.

Watsco Trading Up 1.7%

Watsco stock opened at $317.03 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $327.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $370.54. Watsco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $295.75 and a 52 week high of $459.00. The stock has a market cap of $13.08 billion, a PE ratio of 27.50 and a beta of 1.05.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $4.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.41 by ($0.41). The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 14.40% and a net margin of 6.53%.Watsco's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.52 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.21 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 16th were paid a dividend of $3.30 per share. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 16th. Watsco's dividend payout ratio is currently 114.48%.

Watsco Profile

Watsco, Inc is a distributor of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC/R) equipment and related products. The company supplies residential and commercial contractors with air conditioners, furnaces, heat pumps, refrigeration systems, ductwork, thermostats, controls, tools, replacement parts and other installation supplies.

Through its distribution network and digital sales platforms, Watsco serves HVAC/R contractors, dealers and other customers primarily across the United States, as well as in Canada and Puerto Rico.

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