Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Acquires 3,253 Shares of Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group increased its Watsco stake by 4.9% in the first quarter, buying 3,253 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 69,933 shares worth about $25.4 million.
• Several other institutional investors also added to their Watsco positions, and institutions now own 89.71% of the company’s stock.
• Watsco reported quarterly EPS of $1.87, beating analyst expectations, and announced a $3.30 quarterly dividend payable July 31, implying a 3.4% yield.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) by 4.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 69,933 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 3,253 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.17% of Watsco worth $25,441,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Watsco by 5.2% during the first quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 11,565 shares of the construction company's stock worth $4,185,000 after acquiring an additional 576 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its position in Watsco by 2.8% during the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 7,108 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,586,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Unified Investment Management bought a new position in Watsco in the first quarter valued at approximately $477,000. Swedbank AB grew its stake in Watsco by 11.2% in the first quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 58,214 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $21,178,000 after purchasing an additional 5,869 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intrinsic Value Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Watsco by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Intrinsic Value Partners LLC now owns 1,789 shares of the construction company's stock worth $651,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Watsco in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Watsco from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of Watsco in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $385.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Watsco from $370.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $402.71.

Watsco Stock Up 2.5%

WSO opened at $393.45 on Tuesday. Watsco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $323.05 and a 12-month high of $494.94. The business has a 50 day moving average of $392.67 and a 200-day moving average of $391.68. The stock has a market cap of $16.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.65 and a beta of 1.02.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.14. Watsco had a return on equity of 15.31% and a net margin of 6.85%.The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.93 EPS. The firm's revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 16th will be issued a $3.30 dividend. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 16th. Watsco's payout ratio is currently 109.54%.

About Watsco

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.

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