International Assets Investment Management LLC Makes New Investment in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 34,764 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,123,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 38.1% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 10,286 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $920,000 after acquiring an additional 2,840 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith during the 1st quarter valued at $212,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 59.8% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 174,532 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $15,614,000 after acquiring an additional 65,297 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith during the 1st quarter valued at $109,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 36.9% during the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 15,043 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,345,000 after acquiring an additional 4,052 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of AOS opened at $75.40 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $81.93 and a 200 day moving average of $83.02. A. O. Smith Co. has a fifty-two week low of $70.30 and a fifty-two week high of $92.44. The firm has a market cap of $10.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.17. 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 announced 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. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 14.41%. The company had revenue of $957.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $960.36 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.78 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. This is a positive change from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AOS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group upgraded A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price 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. StockNews.com cut A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 26th. Finally, DA Davidson cut A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total value of $1,191,105.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $194,319. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.