Retirement Systems of Alabama Increases Stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 7.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 54,408 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 3,813 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned 0.13% of Watsco worth $26,762,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 0.7% in the third quarter. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC now owns 2,999 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,475,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its position in Watsco by 30.6% in the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 94 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in Watsco by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 952 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $468,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Watsco by 27.8% in the 3rd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 115 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Equitable Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Watsco by 2.2% during the third quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 1,166 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $574,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Watsco Stock Performance

Shares of WSO stock opened at $509.78 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $512.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $490.84. Watsco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $373.33 and a 1 year high of $571.41. The firm has a market cap of $20.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.40 and a beta of 0.92.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $4.22 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.35 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.06 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 16th were issued a $2.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 16th. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. Watsco’s payout ratio is 83.46%.

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.