Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Buys Shares of 9,500 Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 9,500 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $4,070,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in WSO. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 13.2% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,280 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $695,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC bought a new position in Watsco during the 1st quarter worth $229,000. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in Watsco by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 7,429 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,290,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. bought a new position in shares of Watsco in the 1st quarter worth about $246,000. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can raised its position in shares of Watsco by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 19,121 shares of the construction company's stock worth $5,997,000 after acquiring an additional 1,596 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Watsco from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Watsco presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $396.00.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WSO traded down $5.26 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $412.45. 200,278 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 341,839. The business's fifty day moving average price is $408.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $397.73. The company has a market cap of $16.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.19 and a beta of 0.89. Watsco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $310.20 and a 12-month high of $447.49. The company has a current ratio of 3.36, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The construction company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.50 by ($0.44). The business had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.65 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 7.36% and a return on equity of 21.36%. Watsco's revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.35 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $2.70 per share. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This is an increase from Watsco's previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. Watsco's dividend payout ratio is currently 79.06%.

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.