Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Sells 3,177 Shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund trimmed its position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 27.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,214 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 3,177 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Watsco were worth $3,893,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Forsta AP Fonden boosted its position in Watsco by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 7,800 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,837,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its position in shares of Watsco by 19.5% in the third quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 644 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $317,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its holdings in Watsco by 16.1% during the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 4,037 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,985,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares during the last quarter. abrdn plc boosted its holdings in Watsco by 1.2% during the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 14,996 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $7,378,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its position in Watsco by 8.0% in the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 1,888 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $929,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WSO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of Watsco in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Raymond James started coverage on Watsco in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Watsco from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $495.00.

Watsco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSO opened at $498.19 on Thursday. Watsco, Inc. has a 52-week low of $383.06 and a 52-week high of $571.41. The company has a market capitalization of $20.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.60 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $484.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $492.99.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 17.59% and a net margin of 7.04%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were given a dividend of $2.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watsco

In other news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 10,998 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.21, for a total transaction of $5,589,293.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 12.86% of the company’s stock.

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.