A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Shares Acquired by Great Lakes Advisors LLC

Great Lakes Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 257,486 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,565 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $21,057,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in A. O. Smith by 11.3% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 225,930 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $20,212,000 after acquiring an additional 22,859 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 37.2% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 623,357 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $51,390,000 after purchasing an additional 168,911 shares during the period. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $228,000. TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 39.7% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 79,075 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,519,000 after buying an additional 22,483 shares during the period. Finally, Cim LLC acquired a new position in A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,165,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of AOS traded down $0.95 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $76.91. The stock had a trading volume of 864,869 shares, compared to its average volume of 939,155. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $82.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.05. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52 week low of $64.14 and a 52 week high of $92.44. The company has a market capitalization of $11.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

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

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st were given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AOS has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group raised 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 upgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $97.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $194,319. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

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.