Voya Investment Management LLC Purchases 3,045 Shares of Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 23.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,218 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,045 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $8,244,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 1,557,610 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $791,734,000 after purchasing an additional 7,760 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Watsco by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,454,512 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $739,088,000 after buying an additional 82,977 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL raised its stake in Watsco by 5.7% in the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 814,712 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $414,118,000 after buying an additional 43,776 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Watsco by 4.0% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 496,428 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $252,335,000 after acquiring an additional 18,958 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Watsco by 89,376.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 477,802 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $242,867,000 after acquiring an additional 477,268 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Watsco Trading Down 1.8%

NYSE WSO opened at $387.85 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.74 and a beta of 0.95. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $429.32 and a 200 day moving average of $457.99. Watsco, Inc. has a twelve month low of $378.35 and a twelve month high of $571.41.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $4.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.84 by ($0.32). The business had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 7.08% and a return on equity of 16.96%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.49 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 16th were paid a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 16th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Watsco’s payout ratio is currently 92.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on WSO shares. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Watsco from $455.00 to $450.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley set a $505.00 price target on Watsco in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Watsco from $445.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $484.17.

About Watsco

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.