Jennison Associates LLC Buys 54,866 Shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 80.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 123,040 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 54,866 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $52,719,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Watsco in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Watsco during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Watsco during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Watsco during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Hartford Financial Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 53.1% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 75 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Watsco Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE WSO opened at $413.71 on Wednesday. Watsco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $315.17 and a 1 year high of $447.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.29 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $409.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $398.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 3.36 and a quick ratio of 1.47.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The construction company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.50 by ($0.44). Watsco had a return on equity of 21.36% and a net margin of 7.36%. The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.65 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.35 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $2.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This is a boost from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.61%. Watsco’s payout ratio is 79.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Watsco from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $398.00.

Watsco Company 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.