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

Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 80.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 123,040 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 54,866 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC owned about 0.31% of Watsco worth $52,719,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WSO. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Watsco during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Watsco during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in Watsco during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Watsco during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Hartford Financial Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 53.1% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 75 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Watsco Stock Performance

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

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.65 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 21.36% and a net margin of 7.36%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.35 EPS. Analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.19 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

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

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.