Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Has $1.76 Million Stake in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lowered its holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 34.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,353 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 2,251 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Watsco were worth $1,760,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 2.2% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,485,996 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $656,036,000 after buying an additional 31,484 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in Watsco by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 389,104 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $171,836,000 after purchasing an additional 1,234 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its stake in Watsco by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 356,844 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $143,748,000 after purchasing an additional 36,010 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 106.4% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 296,170 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $130,801,000 after purchasing an additional 152,662 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 5.3% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 276,750 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $111,890,000 after purchasing an additional 14,013 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Stock Performance

NYSE WSO opened at $419.33 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.01 billion, a PE ratio of 32.76 and a beta of 1.04. Watsco, Inc. has a 52-week low of $323.05 and a 52-week high of $535.40. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $372.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $378.49.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Friday, January 16th were issued a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 16th. Watsco’s payout ratio is 93.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on WSO shares. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Friday, December 12th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Watsco in a report on Monday, January 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $370.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Watsco from $460.00 to $370.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Wolfe Research set a $349.00 price target on shares of Watsco in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Watsco from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $404.14.

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.