Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 40,150 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 48.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 43,204 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 40,150 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $3,570,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AOS. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in A. O. Smith by 2.6% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,075,913 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $87,988,000 after acquiring an additional 26,794 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 4.5% in the second quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 35,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,873,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its holdings in A. O. Smith by 2,462.1% during the second quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 6,764 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $553,000 after purchasing an additional 6,500 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in A. O. Smith by 1.6% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 186,247 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,231,000 after buying an additional 2,851 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 69.8% during the 2nd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 311,792 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,498,000 after buying an additional 128,181 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Trading Up 0.5 %

A. O. Smith stock opened at $68.89 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $9.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.13, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.16. A. O. Smith Co. has a fifty-two week low of $68.07 and a fifty-two week high of $92.44. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $74.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.67.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $957.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $960.36 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 14.41%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This is a boost from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AOS. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on A. O. Smith from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com cut shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.17.

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.