First Hawaiian Bank Acquires 46 Shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

First Hawaiian Bank grew its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,435 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 46 shares during the quarter. First Hawaiian Bank’s holdings in Watsco were worth $2,102,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WSO. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in Watsco by 273.5% during the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 549 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $372,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Watsco in the second quarter valued at $61,000. Choreo LLC acquired a new position in Watsco during the second quarter worth $310,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in Watsco by 9.1% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 2,400 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,112,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 10,998 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 12.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Watsco Stock Performance

Shares of WSO stock opened at $466.22 on Thursday. Watsco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $373.33 and a 52 week high of $571.41. The company has a market capitalization of $18.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.03 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $511.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $491.94.

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

Watsco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a $2.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on WSO shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Watsco from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Northcoast Research started coverage on Watsco in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating for the company.

Watsco Company 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.