Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 129 Shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,846 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 129 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Watsco were worth $875,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WSO. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its position in shares of Watsco by 32.2% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 4,258 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,094,000 after purchasing an additional 1,038 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Watsco by 3,571.0% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,138 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $560,000 after purchasing an additional 1,107 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Watsco by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 51,590 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $25,645,000 after buying an additional 2,738 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in Watsco by 2,128.1% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 107,463 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $52,880,000 after buying an additional 102,640 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 9.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 464,061 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $228,263,000 after buying an additional 41,845 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Watsco Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:WSO opened at $495.89 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $493.43 and a 200-day moving average of $496.71. Watsco, Inc. has a 12 month low of $396.82 and a 12 month high of $571.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.04 billion, a PE ratio of 37.43 and a beta of 0.92.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 7.04% and a return on equity of 17.59%. On average, research analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th were paid a $2.70 dividend. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Raymond James began coverage on shares of Watsco in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Loop Capital raised their target price on shares of Watsco from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Watsco from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Watsco has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $486.25.

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.