Metis Global Partners LLC Acquires 377 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 6,403 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 377 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $575,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 10.4% during the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 21,529 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,926,000 after buying an additional 2,025 shares in the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 589.6% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 12,075 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,080,000 after acquiring an additional 10,324 shares in the last quarter. Arjuna Capital lifted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 28,116 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,515,000 after purchasing an additional 1,048 shares during the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC bought a new stake in A. O. Smith during the first quarter worth approximately $201,000. Finally, Shell Asset Management Co. grew its holdings in A. O. Smith by 86.3% during the first quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 9,091 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $813,000 after purchasing an additional 4,211 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of AOS stock opened at $72.23 on Monday. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12 month low of $72.15 and a 12 month high of $92.44. The company has a market capitalization of $10.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $80.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $82.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

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, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $960.36 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.78 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This is a positive change from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is 35.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson cut shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. 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 increased their target price for the company from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.71.

A. O. Smith 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.