National Pension Service Has $1.01 Million Stock Position in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

National Pension Service grew its stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 93.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,982 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,437 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in Watsco were worth $1,005,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in Watsco during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Watsco during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its stake in Watsco by 45.0% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 174 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its stake in Watsco by 151.4% during the 3rd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 181 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Advocates LLC acquired a new stake in Watsco during the 3rd quarter worth $74,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on WSO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Watsco from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Zacks Research raised Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Stephens raised their price objective on Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Mizuho set a $425.00 price objective on Watsco in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Watsco presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $399.83.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WSO opened at $359.02 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.79 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a 50-day moving average of $399.05 and a 200-day moving average of $381.99. Watsco, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $323.05 and a fifty-two week high of $494.94.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.49 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 15.31% and a net margin of 6.85%.Watsco’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.93 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.64 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 16th were issued a $3.30 dividend. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 16th. This is a positive change from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is 109.54%.

Watsco Company Profile

Watsco, Inc is the largest distributor of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC/R) equipment, parts and supplies in the United States. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, the company operates a network of more than 600 branches across the continental U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. Watsco serves residential and commercial contractors by providing essential components for climate control systems, including air conditioners, furnaces, heat pumps, coils, refrigerants, controls and electrical and piping supplies.

Founded in 1947, Watsco has grown from a single regional distributor into an industry leader through a combination of organic expansion, acquisitions and strategic partnerships with original equipment manufacturers such as Carrier, Trane, Goodman and Lennox.