Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Has $4.23 Million Position in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 24.1% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 11,619 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,260 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Watsco were worth $4,227,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on WSO. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Friday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Stephens lifted their price objective on Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, DA Davidson started coverage on Watsco in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $385.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $397.71.

Watsco Stock Down 1.4%

NYSE:WSO opened at $398.87 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $16.22 billion, a PE ratio of 33.10 and a beta of 1.02. Watsco, Inc. has a 12 month low of $323.05 and a 12 month high of $494.94. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $398.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $390.34.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.49 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 6.85% and a return on equity of 15.31%. Watsco’s quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.93 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 16th will be issued a dividend of $3.30 per share. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 109.54%.

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.