Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC Trims Stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC lowered its position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 1.9% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 97,507 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,870 shares during the period. A. O. Smith comprises approximately 1.8% of Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $8,759,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of AOS. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the third quarter valued at about $628,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 22.8% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 30,017 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,696,000 after purchasing an additional 5,572 shares during the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 5.0% in the third quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 2,989 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $269,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Atwater Malick LLC raised its position in A. O. Smith by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Atwater Malick LLC now owns 111,994 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,060,000 after buying an additional 1,212 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 30.8% during the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 17,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,563,000 after purchasing an additional 4,100 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AOS. StockNews.com upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $97.00 to $98.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. UBS Group increased their target price 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.67.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

A. O. Smith stock traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $81.01. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 249,973 shares, compared to its average volume of 950,426. A. O. Smith Co. has a twelve month low of $65.08 and a twelve month high of $92.44. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $82.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.07 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1 billion. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.67% and a return on equity of 31.04%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.01 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a $0.34 dividend. This is an increase from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.68%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at A. O. Smith

In related news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total transaction of $1,191,105.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,399 shares in the company, valued at $194,319. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

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.