Utah Retirement Systems Has $1.51 Million Stock Holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Utah Retirement Systems lifted its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO – Get Rating) by 0.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,853 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Utah Retirement Systems’ holdings in Watsco were worth $1,507,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WSO. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Watsco by 13.2% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,280 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $695,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the period. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco during the first quarter worth $229,000. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in shares of Watsco by 2.8% during the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 7,429 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,290,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V. acquired a new position in Watsco during the first quarter valued at $246,000. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can raised its position in Watsco by 9.1% during the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 19,121 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $5,997,000 after buying an additional 1,596 shares during the period. 84.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group assumed coverage on Watsco in a research report on Tuesday, January 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $280.00 price target on the stock. KeyCorp upped their price target on Watsco from $335.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 17th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Watsco from $323.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 17th. Finally, Stephens upped their price target on Watsco from $300.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $313.67.

Watsco Stock Performance

Shares of WSO stock opened at $293.04 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.54 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Watsco, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $220.68 and a fifty-two week high of $343.85. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $290.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $274.31. The firm has a market cap of $11.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.02 and a beta of 0.89.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 16th. The construction company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 25.17% and a net margin of 8.26%. The business’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.02 EPS. Analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 17th were paid a dividend of $2.45 per share. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 13th. This is an increase from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.20. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is 63.60%.

About Watsco

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Watsco, Inc engages in the distribution of air conditioning, heating and refrigeration equipment and related parts. Its products include residential central air conditioners, gas, electric & oil furnaces, commercial air conditioning & heating equipment, and other specialized equipment and parts, including replacement compressors, evaporator coils, motors and other component parts and supplies, including thermostats, insulation material, refrigerants, ductwork, grills, registers, sheet metal, tools, copper tubing, concrete pads, tape, adhesives, and other ancillary supplies.