Sarasin & Partners LLP Invests $78.77 Million in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Sarasin & Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 876,837 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $78,766,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AOS. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Isthmus Partners LLC purchased a new position in A. O. Smith in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 214.9% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 157.2% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the period. Finally, ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in A. O. Smith by 665.0% during the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 612 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 532 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 5.7 %

AOS traded down $4.92 on Friday, reaching $81.34. 767,182 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 941,050. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market cap of $11.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.15. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $84.07. A. O. Smith Co. has a one year low of $65.08 and a one year high of $92.44.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by ($0.01). A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 31.04% and a net margin of 14.67%. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.01 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This is a boost from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.99%.

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

In other news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total value of $1,191,105.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,399 shares in the company, valued at $194,319. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AOS shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on A. O. Smith from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $97.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.67.

A. O. Smith Company Profile

A. O. Smith Corporation manufactures and markets residential and commercial gas and electric water heaters, boilers, heat pumps, tanks, and water treatment products in North America, China, Europe, and India. The company offers water heaters for residences, restaurants, hotels, office buildings, laundries, car washes, and small businesses; boilers for hospitals, schools, hotels, and other large commercial buildings, as well as homes, apartments, and condominiums; and water treatment products comprising point-of-entry water softeners, well water solutions, and whole-home water filtration products, and point-of-use carbon and reverse osmosis products for residences, restaurants, hotels, and offices.