Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Acquires 5,426 Shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 19.8% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 32,799 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,426 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp’s holdings in Watsco were worth $15,194,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WSO. First PREMIER Bank bought a new stake in shares of Watsco in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC increased its stake in Watsco by 100.0% in the 1st 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 period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Watsco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Watsco during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 76.2% in the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 74 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on WSO shares. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Watsco from $460.00 to $522.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Watsco from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $433.71.

Watsco Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE WSO traded up $10.30 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $458.96. 16,188 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 299,816. Watsco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $338.58 and a 12-month high of $520.41. The firm has a market cap of $18.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.51 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $479.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $455.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 3.21.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $4.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by ($0.21). The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 18.55% and a net margin of 7.02%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.42 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 16th were issued a $2.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 16th. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.08%.

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.