EULAV Asset Management Has $24.05 Million Stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

EULAV Asset Management raised its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 98.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,900 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 24,300 shares during the quarter. EULAV Asset Management owned about 0.12% of Watsco worth $24,053,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WSO. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Watsco by 48,984.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 233,643 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $114,924,000 after acquiring an additional 233,167 shares during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Watsco during the 1st quarter valued at about $90,714,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Watsco by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,411,894 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,473,836,000 after purchasing an additional 146,305 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its stake in Watsco by 225.8% during the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 38,830 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $16,610,000 after purchasing an additional 26,911 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Interval Partners LP acquired a new stake in Watsco during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $11,740,000. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Watsco Trading Up 1.2 %

WSO opened at $533.39 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.22 and a beta of 0.88. Watsco, Inc. has a 12 month low of $373.33 and a 12 month high of $545.49. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $495.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $483.68.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $4.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.73 by ($0.51). Watsco had a net margin of 6.99% and a return on equity of 17.77%. The business had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.35 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 16th were paid a $2.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 16th. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. Watsco’s payout ratio is currently 83.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Watsco from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Watsco from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th.

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.