IFM Investors Pty Ltd Purchases 123 Shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,356 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Watsco were worth $3,618,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Watsco in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 100.0% in the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 58 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Watsco during the first quarter valued at $31,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Watsco by 76.2% during the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 74 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its position in shares of Watsco by 52.6% during the first quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 87 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Trading Down 0.5 %

Watsco stock opened at $475.90 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $482.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $473.79. Watsco, Inc. has a 52-week low of $340.52 and a 52-week high of $520.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 3.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market cap of $19.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.61 and a beta of 0.88.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $4.22 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.73 by ($0.51). The business had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 7.02% and a return on equity of 18.55%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.35 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.78 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 16th will be given a dividend of $2.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 16th. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Watsco from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Watsco from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday.

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.