State of Michigan Retirement System Acquires 1,500 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

State of Michigan Retirement System raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 4.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $2,873,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AOS. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 11.3% in the 1st 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 increased its stake in A. O. Smith by 37.2% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 623,357 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $51,390,000 after buying an additional 168,911 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc increased its stake in A. O. Smith by 39.7% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Cim LLC purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,165,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 222.0% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 25,255 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,259,000 after acquiring an additional 17,411 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AOS. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $97.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total transaction of $1,191,105.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,399 shares in the company, valued at approximately $194,319. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

NYSE AOS opened at $81.76 on Wednesday. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1 year low of $64.14 and a 1 year high of $92.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.99 billion, a PE ratio of 21.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.15. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $82.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $84.07.

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

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.16%.

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.