Impax Asset Management Group plc Has $281.49 Million Stock Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Impax Asset Management Group plc cut its holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,133,600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 115,611 shares during the quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc owned approximately 2.14% of A. O. Smith worth $281,491,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Isthmus Partners LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Quarry LP boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 214.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith in the third quarter valued at about $37,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of AOS opened at $75.14 on Tuesday. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1 year low of $70.30 and a 1 year high of $92.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $10.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.17. The business has a 50-day moving average of $81.93 and a 200-day moving average of $82.98.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 14.41%. The company had revenue of $957.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $960.36 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a $0.34 dividend. This is an increase from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is presently 35.79%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other A. O. Smith news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of A. O. Smith 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 approximately $194,319. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

A. O. Smith 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.