A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Shares Sold by Bridgewater Associates LP

Bridgewater Associates LP lowered its position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 7.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,811 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 410 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $432,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hardy Reed LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the third quarter worth about $325,000. Cadence Bank increased its holdings in A. O. Smith by 18.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 8,938 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $803,000 after purchasing an additional 1,394 shares during the last quarter. Thematics Asset Management raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Thematics Asset Management now owns 182,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $16,349,000 after purchasing an additional 8,000 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 11.1% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 196,879 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $17,686,000 after buying an additional 19,611 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Trading Up 0.2 %

A. O. Smith stock opened at $74.65 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $79.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $81.38. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52-week low of $70.73 and a 52-week high of $92.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.60, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.82. The business 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.90 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. This is an increase from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. DA Davidson downgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group upgraded A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.