A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Holdings Raised by AustralianSuper Pty Ltd

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 114.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,538 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,483 shares during the quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $587,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Isthmus Partners LLC acquired a new position in A. O. Smith during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Quarry LP raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 214.9% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

NYSE:AOS opened at $75.11 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.95 billion, a PE ratio of 19.77, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1 year low of $69.17 and a 1 year high of $92.44. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $82.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.14.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.82. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 14.41%. The firm had revenue of $957.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $960.36 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.78 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a $0.34 dividend. 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 1.81%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total value of $1,191,105.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $194,319. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AOS has been the subject of several research reports. DA Davidson cut A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 26th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group raised A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.71.

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.