Korea Investment CORP Buys 14,377 Shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Korea Investment CORP boosted its position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 198.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 21,611 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 14,377 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Watsco were worth $10,241,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. TrueMark Investments LLC grew its holdings in Watsco by 206.4% during the 4th quarter. TrueMark Investments LLC now owns 5,231 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,479,000 after purchasing an additional 3,524 shares during the last quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp boosted its position in shares of Watsco by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 4,928 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,335,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Watsco by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 1,949 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $924,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Watsco in the fourth quarter worth approximately $322,000. Finally, Congress Wealth Management LLC DE lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 867 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $412,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Trading Down 2.6 %

WSO opened at $500.42 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.77 and a beta of 0.92. Watsco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $396.82 and a 12-month high of $571.42. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $496.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $498.74.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 7.04% and a return on equity of 17.59%. The company had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th were paid a $2.70 dividend. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.