Watsco, Inc. $WSO Shares Sold by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

Key Points

• The State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its stake in Watsco, Inc. by 9.5%, selling 1,191 shares during the first quarter, leaving it with 11,406 shares valued at approximately $5.8 million.
• Watsco reported $4.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the last quarter, which was below analysts' expectations, and had a total revenue of $2.06 billion, down 3.6% from the previous year.
• The company declared a $3.00 quarterly dividend on July 31st, resulting in a yield of 2.9% with a high payout ratio of 92.02%.

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lessened its stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) by 9.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,406 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 1,191 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in Watsco were worth $5,798,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Watsco in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Manitou Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Watsco in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Watsco by 115.4% in the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 56 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. City Holding Co. purchased a new position in shares of Watsco in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new stake in Watsco in the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on WSO. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Watsco from $455.00 to $450.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $505.00 price objective on Watsco in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $484.17.

Watsco Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of WSO traded up $9.1460 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $414.7760. 293,823 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 378,833. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.81 and a beta of 0.95. Watsco, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $397.73 and a fifty-two week high of $571.41. The business's 50 day moving average is $444.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $469.32.

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

Watsco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 16th were given a dividend of $3.00 per share. 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 (DPR) 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.