River Road Asset Management LLC Makes New $79.40 Million Investment in WESCO International, Inc. (NYSE:WCC)

River Road Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of WESCO International, Inc. (NYSE:WCC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 456,659 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $79,404,000. River Road Asset Management LLC owned 0.89% of WESCO International as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of WCC. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of WESCO International by 55.8% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 23,551 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,065,000 after acquiring an additional 8,430 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC grew its position in WESCO International by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 55,479 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $7,220,000 after buying an additional 2,304 shares in the last quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. grew its position in WESCO International by 29.5% in the 2nd quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 82,766 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $8,864,000 after buying an additional 18,860 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in WESCO International by 35.2% in the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,212 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $344,000 after buying an additional 837 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC grew its position in WESCO International by 33.0% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC now owns 21,877 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,612,000 after buying an additional 5,424 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.76% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of WESCO International from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $202.00 to $173.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of WESCO International from $203.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of WESCO International from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com lowered shares of WESCO International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of WESCO International from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, WESCO International currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $184.67.

WESCO International Stock Down 1.5 %

WCC traded down $2.31 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $152.48. 403,849 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 577,651. The company has a market cap of $7.77 billion, a PE ratio of 11.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 2.06. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $160.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $158.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 2.48 and a quick ratio of 1.42. WESCO International, Inc. has a one year low of $121.90 and a one year high of $195.43.

WESCO International (NYSE:WCC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The technology company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.86 by ($1.21). WESCO International had a net margin of 3.42% and a return on equity of 17.01%. The business had revenue of $5.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.13 EPS. WESCO International's revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that WESCO International, Inc. will post 14.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WESCO International Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.4125 dividend. This is a positive change from WESCO International's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.08%. WESCO International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.19%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP James Cameron sold 5,352 shares of WESCO International stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.39, for a total value of $836,999.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 33,595 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,253,922.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP James Cameron sold 5,352 shares of WESCO International stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.39, for a total value of $836,999.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 33,595 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,253,922.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Nelson John Squires III sold 3,490 shares of WESCO International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total transaction of $663,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 54,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,333,150. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

WESCO International Company Profile

WESCO International, Inc provides business-to-business distribution, logistics services, and supply chain solutions in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Electrical & Electronic Solutions (EES), Communications & Security Solutions (CSS), and Utility and Broadband Solutions (UBS).