National Pension Service Increases Stock Holdings in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

National Pension Service grew its stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 339.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 642 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 496 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Watsco were worth $284,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WSO. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Watsco by 62.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 468,875 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $238,329,000 after buying an additional 180,951 shares in the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Watsco by 23.1% during the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 16,218 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $8,244,000 after acquiring an additional 3,045 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $573,000. Amundi increased its stake in Watsco by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 26,348 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $12,977,000 after purchasing an additional 1,313 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nicholas Company Inc. increased its stake in Watsco by 13.8% in the 2nd quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. now owns 12,948 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $5,718,000 after purchasing an additional 1,575 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Watsco Trading Down 1.2%

Watsco stock opened at $342.35 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $377.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $421.76. Watsco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $340.66 and a 52 week high of $571.41. The stock has a market cap of $13.88 billion, a PE ratio of 26.75 and a beta of 0.93.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The construction company reported $3.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter. Watsco had a net margin of 7.04% and a return on equity of 16.48%. On average, equities analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 16th were given a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 16th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 93.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Watsco from $400.00 to $360.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Watsco from $505.00 to $460.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Watsco from $425.00 to $390.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Watsco from $525.00 to $400.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Watsco in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $435.00.

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.