Foster & Motley Inc. Makes New Investment in WESCO International, Inc. $WCC

Foster & Motley Inc. purchased a new position in WESCO International, Inc. (NYSE:WCC) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,027 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $375,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC bought a new position in WESCO International in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $227,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of WESCO International by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 26,295 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,870,000 after acquiring an additional 539 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of WESCO International during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $75,136,000. Greenleaf Trust boosted its position in shares of WESCO International by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,597 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $481,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its position in shares of WESCO International by 38.7% during the 2nd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 82,957 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $15,364,000 after acquiring an additional 23,164 shares during the last quarter. 93.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

WESCO International Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of WCC opened at $214.07 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $10.42 billion, a PE ratio of 16.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.79. The business has a fifty day moving average of $215.41 and a 200 day moving average of $190.34. WESCO International, Inc. has a 52-week low of $125.21 and a 52-week high of $228.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

WESCO International (NYSE:WCC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The technology company reported $3.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.08. WESCO International had a return on equity of 12.96% and a net margin of 2.98%.The business had revenue of $5.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.82 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.21 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that WESCO International, Inc. will post 13.3 EPS for the current year.

WESCO International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th were given a dividend of $0.4538 per share. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 12th. WESCO International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on WCC. Barclays began coverage on WESCO International in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $258.00 target price for the company. Stephens downgraded WESCO International from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $190.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. KeyCorp increased their target price on WESCO International from $240.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded WESCO International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on WESCO International from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, WESCO International has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $237.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at WESCO International

In other news, EVP Diane Lazzaris sold 4,260 shares of WESCO International stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.77, for a total transaction of $966,040.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 52,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,999,761.32. This trade represents a 7.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO John Engel sold 51,051 shares of WESCO International stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.17, for a total value of $11,546,204.67. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 475,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $107,650,361.07. This trade represents a 9.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 136,131 shares of company stock valued at $30,384,421. 3.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

WESCO International Profile

WESCO International, Inc provides business-to-business distribution, logistics services, and supply chain solutions in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Electrical & Electronic Solutions (EES), Communications & Security Solutions (CSS), and Utility and Broadband Solutions (UBS).