Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 1,199 Shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) by 1.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 85,964 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,199 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.21% of Watsco worth $43,696,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 89,376.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 477,802 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $242,867,000 after acquiring an additional 477,268 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at $118,312,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at $104,533,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at $63,603,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 542.2% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 110,752 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $52,484,000 after acquiring an additional 93,506 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Watsco from $455.00 to $450.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Watsco from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Watsco from $560.00 to $540.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley set a $505.00 target price on shares of Watsco in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Watsco from $445.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $484.17.

Watsco Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE:WSO traded up $4.81 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $477.82. 485,217 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 261,849. Watsco, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $418.31 and a fifty-two week high of $571.42. The firm has a market cap of $19.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.73 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $453.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $477.27.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.29 by ($0.36). The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.66 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 17.13% and a net margin of 6.98%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.17 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 16th will be paid a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 16th. Watsco's payout ratio is presently 92.24%.

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.