A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 164,971 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 21,276 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $14,819,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sarasin & Partners LLP acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith during the third quarter worth $78,766,000. Select Equity Group L.P. increased its stake in A. O. Smith by 11.6% during the second quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 3,852,467 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $315,055,000 after acquiring an additional 400,304 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith during the second quarter worth $22,288,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith during the third quarter worth $24,060,000. Finally, Distillate Capital Partners LLC increased its stake 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 worth $13,319,000 after acquiring an additional 162,699 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE:AOS opened at $72.22 on Friday. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12-month low of $72.15 and a 12-month high of $92.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a market cap of $10.47 billion, a PE ratio of 19.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $80.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.24.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $960.36 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.78 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. This is a boost from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 35.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on AOS shares. DA Davidson cut A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock 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.