Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Purchases Shares of 107,290 Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Watsco, Inc., purchasing 107,290 shares valued at approximately $54.5 million, representing 0.27% ownership of the company.
• Watsco's recent earnings report revealed an EPS of $4.52, which missed consensus estimates by $0.32, and the company reported a revenue decrease of 3.6% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $3.00 per share, yielding approximately 2.9%, with a dividend payout ratio of 92.02%.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 107,290 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $54,536,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned about 0.27% of Watsco as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WSO. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Watsco during the first quarter valued at $266,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in Watsco during the first quarter valued at $2,588,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Watsco by 109.4% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 222 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $113,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Watsco by 133.1% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 844 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $429,000 after acquiring an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in Watsco by 4.8% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,028 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $523,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSO has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley set a $505.00 price objective on shares of Watsco in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Watsco from $455.00 to $450.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Watsco from $445.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $484.17.

Watsco Stock Performance

NYSE:WSO traded down $0.83 on Monday, hitting $408.15. The stock had a trading volume of 444,259 shares, compared to its average volume of 280,110. The stock has a market cap of $16.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.30 and a beta of 0.96. Watsco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $390.36 and a 1 year high of $571.41. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $438.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $462.71.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $4.52 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.84 by ($0.32). The firm had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.24 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 7.08% and a return on equity of 16.96%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.49 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 16th were issued a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 16th. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Watsco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 92.02%.

About Watsco

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.