Nomura Holdings Inc. Purchases New Stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 4,622 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $2,190,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Watsco by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 464,061 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $228,263,000 after acquiring an additional 41,845 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in shares of Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at $10,446,000. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc lifted its holdings in Watsco by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 139,157 shares of the construction company's stock worth $65,966,000 after purchasing an additional 18,279 shares in the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Watsco by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 97,832 shares of the construction company's stock worth $46,362,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Watsco by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 674 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $319,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Watsco in a report on Monday, April 14th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $515.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Watsco from $475.00 to $455.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Watsco from $560.00 to $540.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Mizuho set a $490.00 target price on Watsco in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Loop Capital raised their price target on Watsco from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $480.83.

Watsco Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of Watsco stock traded down $2.17 on Thursday, hitting $456.25. 54,718 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 253,689. Watsco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $439.08 and a 12-month high of $571.42. The company has a market cap of $18.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.45 and a beta of 1.11. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $488.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $497.13.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.29 by ($0.36). Watsco had a net margin of 7.04% and a return on equity of 17.59%. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.17 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th were given a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 15th. This is a positive change from Watsco's previous quarterly dividend of $2.70. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.63%. Watsco's dividend payout ratio is 92.24%.

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.