Fmr LLC Purchases 80,632 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Fmr LLC raised its position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 180.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 125,384 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 80,632 shares during the quarter. Fmr LLC owned approximately 0.09% of A. O. Smith worth $11,263,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in A. O. Smith in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Isthmus Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Quarry LP raised its position in A. O. Smith by 214.9% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in A. O. Smith in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AOS shares. UBS Group upgraded A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. DA Davidson cut A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $84.14.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

A. O. Smith stock opened at $72.88 on Thursday. A. O. Smith Co. has a fifty-two week low of $70.73 and a fifty-two week high of $92.44. The stock has a market cap of $10.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.18, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.16. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $76.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.67.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.82. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.41% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The company had revenue of $957.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $960.36 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a $0.34 dividend. This is a positive change from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 35.79%.

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.