Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Buys 18,361 Shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado raised its holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 503.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 22,011 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,361 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Watsco were worth $10,431,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Tudor Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Watsco in the third quarter worth about $588,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Watsco by 500.0% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 228 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $112,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 2,269 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 51,590 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $25,645,000 after purchasing an additional 2,738 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new position in shares of Watsco during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,332,000. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Watsco Stock Down 0.0 %

NYSE:WSO opened at $455.93 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.41 and a beta of 1.00. Watsco, Inc. has a twelve month low of $439.08 and a twelve month high of $571.42. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $497.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $498.58.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.29 by ($0.36). The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.66 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 7.04% and a return on equity of 17.59%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.17 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $3.00 per share. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This is a boost from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.70. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 92.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Watsco from $560.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Loop Capital boosted their target price on Watsco from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Raymond James initiated coverage on Watsco in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Mizuho set a $490.00 target price on Watsco in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Watsco in a research note on Monday, April 14th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $515.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $480.83.

About Watsco

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.