Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires 2,007 Shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 8.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 24,908 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 2,007 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Watsco were worth $11,850,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WSO. My Legacy Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Watsco by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. My Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 687 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $329,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC grew its position in Watsco by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 1,196 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $567,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC raised its stake in Watsco by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 754 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $358,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,686 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $799,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its stake in shares of Watsco by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 7,692 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,645,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on WSO. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Watsco from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Raymond James started coverage on shares of Watsco in a research report on Friday, January 17th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Loop Capital raised their price objective on shares of Watsco from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $486.25.

Watsco Stock Performance

NYSE WSO opened at $509.53 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $496.37 and its 200 day moving average is $499.01. Watsco, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $396.82 and a fifty-two week high of $571.42. The company has a market capitalization of $20.59 billion, a PE ratio of 38.45 and a beta of 0.92.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 17.59% and a net margin of 7.04%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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 Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th were paid a $2.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.51%.

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.