Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Has $2.01 Million Stock Position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Key Points

• Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its holdings in Watsco, Inc. by 45.8%, now owning shares worth approximately $2.01 million.
• Watsco reported earnings of $4.52 per share, missing analyst expectations, with revenue of $2.06 billion, down 3.6% from the previous year.
• The company recently declared a $3.00 quarterly dividend, yielding 2.9%, with a payout ratio of 92.02%.

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lifted its position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) by 45.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,948 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,241 shares during the quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board's holdings in Watsco were worth $2,007,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of WSO. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Watsco by 89,376.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 477,802 shares of the construction company's stock worth $242,867,000 after purchasing an additional 477,268 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Watsco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $104,533,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Watsco by 542.2% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 110,752 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $52,484,000 after purchasing an additional 93,506 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $739,088,000 after purchasing an additional 82,977 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Watsco by 25.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 333,348 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $157,970,000 after buying an additional 67,649 shares during the period. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on WSO shares. UBS Group reduced their price target 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 shares of Watsco in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Watsco from $445.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Watsco from $560.00 to $540.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Mizuho set a $490.00 price objective on Watsco in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $484.17.

Watsco Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of Watsco stock traded up $5.43 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $420.97. 62,800 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 302,408. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.35 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $448.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $473.11. Watsco, Inc. has a 1-year low of $403.01 and a 1-year high of $571.41.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $4.52 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.84 by ($0.32). Watsco had a return on equity of 16.96% and a net margin of 7.08%. The business had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.49 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 16th were paid a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 16th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Watsco's dividend payout ratio is 92.02%.

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.