State of Alaska Department of Revenue Increases Stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 2.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,077 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Watsco were worth $2,072,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. LifeWealth Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Watsco by 37.8% during the first quarter. LifeWealth Investments LLC now owns 641 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $326,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the period. Crown Oak Advisors LLC boosted its position in Watsco by 1.0% during the first quarter. Crown Oak Advisors LLC now owns 24,371 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $12,388,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Watsco by 6.8% during the first quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 580 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Capital LLC boosted its position in Watsco by 43.4% during the first quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 3,045 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,548,000 after purchasing an additional 922 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Watsco by 7.5% during the first quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 105,192 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $53,469,000 after purchasing an additional 7,360 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WSO. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Watsco from $475.00 to $455.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Watsco from $445.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen raised Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Watsco in a report on Monday, April 14th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $515.00 price target for the company. Finally, Mizuho set a $490.00 price target on Watsco in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $486.67.

Watsco Stock Up 2.0%

Watsco stock opened at $430.19 on Tuesday. Watsco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $419.91 and a 52 week high of $571.42. The company has a market capitalization of $17.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.07 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $460.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $481.63.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by ($0.36). Watsco had a net margin of 6.98% and a return on equity of 17.13%. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.17 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th were issued a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 15th. This is an increase from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.70. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.79%. Watsco’s payout ratio is presently 92.24%.

Watsco Company 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.