Aigen Investment Management LP Acquires New Position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,135 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $558,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Watsco by 39.8% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 2,451 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,059,000 after buying an additional 698 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Watsco by 1.9% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 16,773 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $7,246,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Watsco in the first quarter worth about $527,000. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Watsco in the 1st quarter worth approximately $230,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Watsco by 15.0% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 18,215 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $7,868,000 after buying an additional 2,373 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Price Performance

WSO stock opened at $543.06 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $489.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $481.42. Watsco, Inc. has a 12 month low of $373.33 and a 12 month high of $545.49. The company has a market cap of $21.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.97 and a beta of 0.88.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $4.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.73 by ($0.51). The company had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 17.77% and a net margin of 6.99%. Watsco’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.35 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 16th were paid a $2.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 16th. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Watsco from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Watsco from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th.

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.