Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV Grows Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 211,361 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,905 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $18,987,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Isthmus Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 157.2% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 665.0% in the first quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 612 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 532 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on AOS shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on A. O. Smith from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. StockNews.com downgraded A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $97.00 to $98.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other A. O. Smith news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total transaction 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 $194,319. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of AOS stock opened at $88.03 on Thursday. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12-month low of $64.86 and a 12-month high of $92.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $82.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.15.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.07 by ($0.01). A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 31.04% and a net margin of 14.67%. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.01 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is currently 33.16%.

About A. O. Smith

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.