Russell Investments Group Ltd. Acquires 23,879 Shares of Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. significantly increased its holdings in Watsco, Inc. by 141.7% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 23,879 shares.
• Watsco's quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $4.52, which missed analysts' expectations of $4.84, and a 3.6% year-over-year revenue decline.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $3.00, equating to an annualized dividend of $12.00 with a yield of 2.9%.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) by 141.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 40,734 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 23,879 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.10% of Watsco worth $20,706,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WSO. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Watsco during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Manitou Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Watsco in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its position in Watsco by 115.4% in the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 56 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco in the first quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new position in shares of Watsco during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Watsco Stock Down 1.4%

NYSE:WSO traded down $5.9220 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $419.1080. 264,897 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 301,347. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.14 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $446.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $470.61. Watsco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $403.01 and a 52 week high of $571.41.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $4.52 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.49 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on WSO. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Watsco from $560.00 to $540.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley set a $505.00 price objective on shares of Watsco in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Watsco from $445.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Watsco from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Watsco from $455.00 to $450.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Watsco has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.