Barclays PLC Sells 5,385 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Barclays PLC cut its holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 241,329 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 5,385 shares during the period. Barclays PLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $21,679,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Isthmus Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 214.9% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith during the third quarter worth $37,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of AOS opened at $72.49 on Friday. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52 week low of $70.73 and a 52 week high of $92.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.67. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $76.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $80.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.16.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $960.36 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.90 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This is a boost from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 35.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AOS. Stifel Nicolaus dropped 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. Citigroup dropped their price target on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group upgraded A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.17.

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.