KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Buys New Shares in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 11,800 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,592,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WSO. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its position in shares of Watsco by 47.0% during the fourth quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 13,608 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $6,449,000 after purchasing an additional 4,349 shares during the period. Semanteon Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Watsco by 31.3% during the 4th quarter. Semanteon Capital Management LP now owns 3,036 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,439,000 after buying an additional 723 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its holdings in Watsco by 0.3% during 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 period. Enhancing Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Watsco during the fourth quarter valued at about $376,000. Finally, Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 5,913 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,802,000 after buying an additional 536 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Watsco Stock Performance

Watsco stock opened at $517.72 on Wednesday. Watsco, Inc. has a twelve month low of $396.82 and a twelve month high of $571.42. The firm has a market cap of $20.92 billion, a PE ratio of 39.07 and a beta of 0.92. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $494.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $497.64.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.24. Watsco had a return on equity of 17.59% and a net margin of 7.04%. The business had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. Watsco’s payout ratio is 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.