Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Buys 1,074 Shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) by 1.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 64,758 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,074 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.16% of Watsco worth $31,853,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WSO. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 16,773 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $7,246,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 15.0% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 18,215 shares of the construction company's stock worth $7,868,000 after purchasing an additional 2,373 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 1,803 shares of the construction company's stock worth $779,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 worth $1,473,836,000 after purchasing an additional 146,305 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 55.8% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 581 shares of the construction company's stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on WSO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Watsco from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Watsco from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th.

Watsco Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE WSO traded down $5.05 on Friday, reaching $520.74. 142,510 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 230,428. Watsco, Inc. has a one year low of $373.33 and a one year high of $545.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.03 billion, a PE ratio of 40.24 and a beta of 0.88. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $492.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $482.70.

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

Watsco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 16th were paid a dividend of $2.70 per share. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 16th. Watsco's payout ratio is 83.46%.

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.