Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Invests $4.27 Million in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 9,212 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $4,267,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSO. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Watsco by 263.6% during the first quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 320,008 shares of the construction company's stock worth $138,234,000 after purchasing an additional 231,987 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Watsco in the first quarter worth approximately $90,714,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Watsco by 4.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,411,894 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,473,836,000 after buying an additional 146,305 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in Watsco by 50.9% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 185,633 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $80,188,000 after acquiring an additional 62,593 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kodai Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Watsco during the fourth quarter worth approximately $17,925,000. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WSO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Watsco from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Watsco from $460.00 to $522.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $469.80.

Watsco Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE WSO traded down $4.70 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $495.98. The stock had a trading volume of 143,480 shares, compared to its average volume of 295,234. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $478.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $465.01. Watsco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $338.58 and a 1 year high of $520.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 3.21. The firm has a market cap of $19.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.15 and a beta of 0.88.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $4.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.70 by ($0.21). The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 18.55% and a net margin of 7.02%. Watsco's revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.42 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 16th were given a dividend of $2.70 per share. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 16th. Watsco's payout ratio is 83.08%.

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.