Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Acquires 135 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 0.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 58,763 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $5,279,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Sarasin & Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at about $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 purchasing an additional 400,304 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the 2nd quarter valued at $22,288,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in A. O. Smith during the third quarter worth $24,060,000. Finally, Distillate Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 100,431.5% during the second quarter. Distillate Capital Partners LLC now owns 162,861 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,319,000 after acquiring an additional 162,699 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 1.1 %

AOS stock opened at $75.11 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $82.19 and its 200-day moving average is $83.14. A. O. Smith Co. has a twelve month low of $69.17 and a twelve month high of $92.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.02 billion, a PE ratio of 19.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.15. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.82. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.41% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The firm had revenue of $957.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $960.36 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.90 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.81%. 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 (DPR) is presently 35.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at A. O. Smith

In related news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total value of $1,191,105.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $194,319. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on AOS. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird lowered 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. DA Davidson cut shares of 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. StockNews.com cut shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 26th. Finally, UBS Group raised A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.71.

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.