MML Investors Services LLC Increases Stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

MML Investors Services LLC raised its stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 5.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,237 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 460 shares during the quarter. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $830,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith during the third quarter worth $524,000. National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 84.5% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 61,239 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,501,000 after acquiring an additional 28,045 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,721,581 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $693,630,000 after acquiring an additional 299,766 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 254,323 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $22,846,000 after purchasing an additional 3,518 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 22,255 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,999,000 after purchasing an additional 1,431 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on AOS shares. DA Davidson lowered A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.17.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

NYSE:AOS opened at $68.72 on Friday. A. O. Smith Co. has a twelve month low of $68.07 and a twelve month high of $92.44. The company has a market cap of $9.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.16. 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $74.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.25.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $957.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $960.36 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. On average, sell-side 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. This is a positive change from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is currently 35.79%.

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.