10,699 Shares in Watsco, Inc. $WSO Bought by Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 10,699 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,459,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WSO. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Watsco by 12.2% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 239,606 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $87,166,000 after buying an additional 26,003 shares during the last quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Watsco by 70.0% during the fourth quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC now owns 166,172 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $55,992,000 after acquiring an additional 68,442 shares during the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 577,669 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $194,646,000 after acquiring an additional 12,500 shares during the period. Dudley & Shanley Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 40.1% in the second quarter. Dudley & Shanley Inc. now owns 78,012 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $32,510,000 after acquiring an additional 22,320 shares during the period. Finally, Gateway Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Watsco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,857,000. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Watsco Stock Performance

Watsco stock opened at $309.26 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.82 and a beta of 1.05. Watsco, Inc. has a 52-week low of $295.75 and a 52-week high of $459.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $350.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $379.91.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $4.00 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.41 by ($0.41). Watsco had a net margin of 6.53% and a return on equity of 14.40%. The company had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.52 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.21 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 16th were issued a dividend of $3.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 16th. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 114.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on WSO. DA Davidson decreased their target price on shares of Watsco from $385.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $485.00 price objective on shares of Watsco in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Robert W. Baird set a $400.00 target price on shares of Watsco in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Watsco from $370.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $395.50.

About Watsco

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.