Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Increases Stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 2.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,247 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 775 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky owned about 0.08% of Watsco worth $14,794,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Watsco by 106.7% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,753 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $751,000 after purchasing an additional 905 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Watsco by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 611 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Watsco by 73.4% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 267 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI increased its stake in shares of Watsco by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI now owns 2,040 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $874,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Watsco by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 8,683 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,720,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of Watsco stock traded down $3.72 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $467.39. 235,778 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 303,154. Watsco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $337.58 and a 1 year high of $520.41. The company has a market capitalization of $18.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.95 and a beta of 0.88. The business has a fifty day moving average of $481.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $441.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 3.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $4.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.70 by ($0.21). The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 7.02% and a return on equity of 18.55%. The company’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.42 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 16th were given a $2.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 16th. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. Watsco’s payout ratio is currently 83.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watsco

In other Watsco news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 774 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.85, for a total transaction of $366,759.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,770 shares in the company, valued at $838,714.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Watsco news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 774 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.85, for a total transaction of $366,759.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,770 shares in the company, valued at $838,714.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John Alexander Macdonald sold 5,334 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.41, for a total transaction of $2,487,830.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 12.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Watsco from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Watsco from $460.00 to $522.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Watsco in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $433.71.

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.