Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Sells 1,610 Shares of Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund trimmed its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 19.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,604 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,610 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Watsco were worth $2,916,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in Watsco by 4.2% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,546 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $683,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its stake in Watsco by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 135,032 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $59,633,000 after purchasing an additional 4,538 shares in the last quarter. Mirabaud Asset Management Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Watsco by 37.2% in the second quarter. Mirabaud Asset Management Ltd now owns 3,691 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,611,000 after buying an additional 1,001 shares during the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco during the second quarter worth $3,954,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 7.3% during the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 29,386 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $12,977,000 after buying an additional 1,994 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Trading Down 0.9%

Watsco stock opened at $345.95 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $378.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $422.78. The stock has a market cap of $14.03 billion, a PE ratio of 27.03 and a beta of 0.93. Watsco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $344.51 and a 52 week high of $571.41.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The construction company reported $3.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter. Watsco had a net margin of 7.04% and a return on equity of 16.48%. On average, equities analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 16th were given a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 16th. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is 93.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WSO. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Watsco from $505.00 to $460.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Watsco from $525.00 to $400.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 17th. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Zacks Research cut shares of Watsco from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Thursday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $435.00.

About Watsco

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.