Brown Advisory Inc. Invests $253,000 in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS)

Brown Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,871 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $253,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AOS. Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 67.3% during the 1st quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 5,188,561 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $339,124,000 after purchasing an additional 2,086,433 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter valued at about $96,180,000. Sarasin & Partners LLP purchased a new position in A. O. Smith during the 1st quarter valued at about $74,180,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 26.8% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,704,295 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $320,880,000 after acquiring an additional 995,043 shares during the period. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 242.8% during the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 627,282 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,787,000 after acquiring an additional 444,307 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AOS opened at $68.06 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.61. A. O. Smith Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $58.83 and a fifty-two week high of $92.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.67 billion, a PE ratio of 19.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.20. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $66.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.62.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.05. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.39% and a net margin of 13.74%. The business had revenue of $963.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $950.56 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.00 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AOS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on A. O. Smith in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup reduced their price target on A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $75.29.

A. O. Smith Company 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.