Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $7.99 Million Stock Position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,855 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 457 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Watsco were worth $7,987,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 32.2% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 4,258 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,094,000 after buying an additional 1,038 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 5.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 51,590 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $25,645,000 after acquiring an additional 2,738 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Watsco by 9.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 464,061 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $228,263,000 after purchasing an additional 41,845 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new position in shares of Watsco during the fourth quarter worth approximately $10,446,000. Finally, 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Watsco Price Performance

WSO stock opened at $509.76 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $496.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $498.92. Watsco, Inc. has a one year low of $396.82 and a one year high of $571.42. The stock has a market cap of $20.60 billion, a PE ratio of 38.47 and a beta of 1.00.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.37 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 analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 7.04% and a return on equity of 17.59%. On average, research analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $3.00 per share. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. This is an increase from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.70. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is 90.57%.

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.