Employees Retirement System of Texas Has $37.94 Million Stock Position in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Employees Retirement System of Texas grew its position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 1,869.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 112,601 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 106,883 shares during the period. Employees Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Watsco were worth $37,941,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allstate Corp boosted its position in Watsco by 84.2% during the 4th quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 2,383 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $803,000 after acquiring an additional 1,089 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its position in Watsco by 45.0% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 174 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Watsco by 264.6% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 762 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $257,000 after acquiring an additional 553 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its position in Watsco by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 29,399 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $9,910,000 after acquiring an additional 1,302 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Watsco during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,085,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of Watsco stock opened at $380.65 on Wednesday. Watsco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $323.05 and a 12-month high of $494.94. The stock has a market cap of $15.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.59 and a beta of 1.12. The business’s 50 day moving average is $399.93 and its 200-day moving average is $381.52.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.14. Watsco had a return on equity of 15.31% and a net margin of 6.85%.The company had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.93 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.73 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 16th were paid a dividend of $3.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 16th. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. This is an increase from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 109.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on WSO shares. Zacks Research raised Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Wall Street Zen raised Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Watsco from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Mizuho set a $425.00 price objective on Watsco in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Stephens upped their price objective on Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $399.83.

Watsco Profile

Watsco, Inc is the largest distributor of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC/R) equipment, parts and supplies in the United States. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, the company operates a network of more than 600 branches across the continental U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. Watsco serves residential and commercial contractors by providing essential components for climate control systems, including air conditioners, furnaces, heat pumps, coils, refrigerants, controls and electrical and piping supplies.

Founded in 1947, Watsco has grown from a single regional distributor into an industry leader through a combination of organic expansion, acquisitions and strategic partnerships with original equipment manufacturers such as Carrier, Trane, Goodman and Lennox.