Alberta Investment Management Corp Acquires Shares of 7,000 Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Alberta Investment Management Corp bought a new position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 7,000 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,091,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WSO. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Watsco by 0.5% during the first 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 buying an additional 7,760 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Watsco by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,454,512 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $739,088,000 after purchasing an additional 82,977 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its position in shares of Watsco by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 814,712 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $414,118,000 after purchasing an additional 43,776 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Watsco by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 496,428 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $252,335,000 after purchasing an additional 18,958 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Watsco by 62.8% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 468,875 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $238,329,000 after buying an additional 180,951 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on WSO. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Watsco from $505.00 to $460.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Thursday, October 30th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Watsco from $425.00 to $390.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Watsco from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Watsco from $525.00 to $400.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $435.00.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of WSO opened at $342.35 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.75 and a beta of 0.93. Watsco, Inc. has a one year low of $340.66 and a one year high of $571.41. The business has a fifty day moving average of $377.65 and a 200 day moving average of $421.49.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The construction company reported $3.98 earnings per share for the quarter. Watsco had a net margin of 7.04% and a return on equity of 16.48%. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter. Analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 16th were paid a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 16th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is 93.75%.

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.