A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Position Reduced by Intech Investment Management LLC

Intech Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 90.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 6,368 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 63,320 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $572,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Sarasin & Partners LLP acquired a new position in A. O. Smith in the third quarter worth $78,766,000. Select Equity Group L.P. lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 11.6% in the 2nd quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 3,852,467 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $315,055,000 after buying an additional 400,304 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at about $24,060,000. Distillate Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 100,431.5% during the 2nd quarter. Distillate Capital Partners LLC now owns 162,861 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,319,000 after buying an additional 162,699 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 69.8% during the second quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 311,792 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $25,498,000 after acquiring an additional 128,181 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of A. O. Smith stock opened at $74.49 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $10.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.41. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52-week low of $70.73 and a 52-week 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.

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

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. This is a boost from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is presently 35.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on AOS shares. UBS Group raised A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $75.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. DA Davidson lowered A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target 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. StockNews.com upgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.