BLI Banque de Luxembourg Investments Acquires Shares of 28,500 Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

BLI Banque de Luxembourg Investments bought a new position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 28,500 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,538,000. BLI Banque de Luxembourg Investments owned about 0.07% of Watsco as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WSO. Davidson Kahn Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Watsco during the fourth quarter worth approximately $266,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Watsco by 2,636.7% in the 4th quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 33,169 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $15,718,000 after purchasing an additional 31,957 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Watsco by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 25,167 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $11,926,000 after buying an additional 3,306 shares in the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC increased its position in Watsco by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 1,191 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $564,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 25.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 333,348 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $157,970,000 after buying an additional 67,649 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on WSO. StockNews.com lowered shares of Watsco from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Watsco from $475.00 to $455.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Loop Capital increased their price target on Watsco from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Mizuho set a $490.00 price objective on Watsco in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Raymond James started coverage on Watsco in a report on Friday, January 17th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $480.83.

Watsco Price Performance

NYSE WSO opened at $472.80 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $494.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $497.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.10 billion, a PE ratio of 35.68 and a beta of 1.11. Watsco, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $439.08 and a fifty-two week high of $571.42.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.29 by ($0.36). The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.66 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 17.59% and a net margin of 7.04%. Watsco’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.17 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th were paid a $3.00 dividend. This is an increase from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.70. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 15th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.