AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Has $65.97 Million Stock Position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc grew its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 15.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 139,157 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,279 shares during the period. Watsco accounts for 0.9% of AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc owned about 0.34% of Watsco worth $65,966,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC increased its position in Watsco by 10.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,624,159 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,782,651,000 after acquiring an additional 346,470 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Watsco by 48,984.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 233,643 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $114,924,000 after purchasing an additional 233,167 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Watsco by 2,128.1% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 107,463 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $52,880,000 after purchasing an additional 102,640 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Watsco by 5.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,173,762 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $577,350,000 after buying an additional 65,846 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Watsco by 9.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 704,330 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $345,783,000 after buying an additional 63,254 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Price Performance

NYSE WSO opened at $494.93 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $505.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $493.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.99 billion, a PE ratio of 38.25 and a beta of 0.95. Watsco, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $373.33 and a fifty-two week high of $571.41.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $4.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.73 by ($0.51). Watsco had a return on equity of 17.77% and a net margin of 6.99%. The business had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.35 earnings per share. Watsco’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a $2.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.46%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 10,998 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.21, for a total transaction of $5,589,293.58. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 12.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on WSO shares. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on Watsco in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Watsco from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of Watsco in a research report on Friday, January 17th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Watsco currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $488.33.

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.