KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Purchases New Holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 11,800 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $5,592,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Watsco by 10.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,624,159 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,782,651,000 after buying an additional 346,470 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,371,535 shares of the construction company's stock worth $649,957,000 after purchasing an additional 118,713 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 5.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,173,762 shares of the construction company's stock worth $577,350,000 after purchasing an additional 65,846 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 63,254 shares during the period. Finally, Markel Group Inc. increased its stake in Watsco by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 590,500 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $279,832,000 after purchasing an additional 8,000 shares during the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Watsco Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of Watsco stock traded down $13.58 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $500.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 226,579 shares, compared to its average volume of 252,562. The business has a fifty day moving average of $496.12 and a 200 day moving average of $498.48. Watsco, Inc. has a 1-year low of $396.82 and a 1-year high of $571.42. The company has a market capitalization of $20.22 billion, a PE ratio of 37.77 and a beta of 0.92.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 17.59% and a net margin of 7.04%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th were given a dividend of $2.70 per share. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. Watsco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on WSO shares. Loop Capital raised their price target on Watsco from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Watsco from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Raymond James started coverage on Watsco in a report on Friday, January 17th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have 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 an average target price 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.