Voya Investment Management LLC Increases Stake in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Key Points

• Voya Investment Management LLC has increased its holdings in Watsco, Inc. by 23.1%, acquiring an additional 3,045 shares, bringing their total to 16,218 shares valued at approximately $8.24 million.
• Watsco recently reported earnings of $4.52 EPS, falling short of analysts' expectations of $4.84, and had quarterly revenue of $2.06 billion, down 3.6% from the previous year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $3.00 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $12.00 with a yield of 3.1%, despite a high payout ratio of 92.02%.

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

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WSO. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Watsco by 2.9% during the first quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 776 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $395,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Watsco by 2.2% during the first quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 1,073 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $545,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Watsco by 4.8% during the first quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 504 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Watsco by 2.3% during the first quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,056 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $537,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Watsco by 4.6% during the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 569 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $290,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Watsco Stock Performance

WSO traded up $5.68 on Friday, hitting $389.93. The company had a trading volume of 634,248 shares, compared to its average volume of 418,406. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.90 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $425.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $455.99. Watsco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $378.35 and a 12-month high of $571.41.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 16.96% and a net margin of 7.08%.Watsco's revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.49 EPS. Analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 16th were issued a dividend of $3.00 per share. 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 92.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Watsco from $445.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Morgan Stanley set a $505.00 target price on Watsco in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on Watsco from $455.00 to $450.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $484.17.

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.