Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Increases Stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 5.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,989 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $269,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. American International Group Inc. raised its position in A. O. Smith by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 33,231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,740,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 653,772 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $53,897,000 after buying an additional 7,079 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 43.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 461,852 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,075,000 after buying an additional 140,685 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,991,003 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $164,138,000 after buying an additional 75,898 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter valued at $1,263,000. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AOS shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on A. O. Smith from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Stifel Nicolaus raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $97.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.67.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

AOS opened at $80.87 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $11.79 billion, a PE ratio of 20.84, 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. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.96. A. O. Smith Co. has a fifty-two week low of $65.08 and a fifty-two week high of $92.44.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its 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 net margin of 14.67% and a return on equity of 31.04%. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.01 EPS. A. O. Smith’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. This is an increase from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $194,319. This trade represents 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. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

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.