OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp Acquires Shares of 1,955 Watsco, Inc. $WSO

OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp bought a new position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 1,955 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $815,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Watsco by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,927 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,013,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its stake in Watsco by 95.0% during the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 1,297 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $573,000 after acquiring an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 7.6% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 50,442 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $22,275,000 after acquiring an additional 3,570 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its stake in shares of Watsco by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 16,258 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $7,180,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 12.0% during the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 523 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WSO has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Watsco from $370.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 price target on shares of Watsco in a report on Monday, August 17th. Robert W. Baird set a $400.00 price target on Watsco in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Friday, June 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $395.50.

Watsco Price Performance

WSO opened at $313.60 on Friday. Watsco, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $295.75 and a fifty-two week high of $459.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.20 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $356.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $383.01.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $4.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.41 by ($0.41). The business had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.14 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 6.53% and a return on equity of 14.40%. Watsco’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.52 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.21 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 16th were given a dividend of $3.30 per share. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 114.48%.

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.