Retirement Systems of Alabama Boosts Stock Holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 54,071 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,267 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Watsco were worth $23,168,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WSO. Paradigm Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Watsco in the fourth quarter valued at $497,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Watsco by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 16,453 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $7,050,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Equity Partners bought a new stake in shares of Watsco in the 4th quarter worth about $286,000. Markel Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Watsco by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 556,750 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $238,551,000 after buying an additional 11,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 16,252 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $6,963,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on WSO. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Watsco from $420.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Watsco in a report on Thursday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Watsco has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $404.25.

Watsco Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:WSO opened at $447.64 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.68 billion, a PE ratio of 34.43 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $413.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $400.10. Watsco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $315.17 and a 1 year high of $451.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.92 and a quick ratio of 1.31.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 19.26% and a net margin of 7.03%. Watsco’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.83 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.25 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a $2.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This is a boost from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.41%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.08%.

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.