Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Grows Stock Holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 5.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,600 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Watsco were worth $4,722,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WSO. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Watsco by 11.9% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 22,852 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $9,871,000 after buying an additional 2,433 shares during the last quarter. Breakwater Capital Group acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco during the 1st quarter worth approximately $212,000. Applied Capital LLC FL increased its holdings in shares of Watsco by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. Applied Capital LLC FL now owns 6,900 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,981,000 after buying an additional 356 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Watsco by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 71,298 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $30,799,000 after buying an additional 818 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dudley & Shanley Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Watsco by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Dudley & Shanley Inc. now owns 25,730 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $11,115,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WSO. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Watsco from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Watsco from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st.

Watsco Stock Down 0.5 %

Watsco stock opened at $475.90 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $482.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $473.79. The company has a market capitalization of $19.18 billion, a PE ratio of 36.61 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 3.21. Watsco, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $340.52 and a fifty-two week high of $520.41.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $4.22 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.73 by ($0.51). The business had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 18.55% and a net margin of 7.02%. The business’s revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.35 EPS. Research analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 16th will be paid a $2.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 16th. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.08%.

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.