A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Position Lowered by Boston Financial Mangement LLC

Boston Financial Mangement LLC reduced its position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 520,294 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 21,318 shares during the quarter. A. O. Smith makes up about 1.4% of Boston Financial Mangement LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Boston Financial Mangement LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $46,738,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on AOS. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of 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 price target for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. DA Davidson downgraded A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” 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 research note on Saturday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.71.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AOS opened at $77.00 on Tuesday. A. O. Smith Co. has a twelve month low of $67.96 and a twelve month high of $92.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $82.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $83.26. The company has a market capitalization of $11.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.95, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.15.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.82. The business had revenue of $957.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $960.36 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.41% and a return on equity of 30.09%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. This is a boost from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is presently 35.23%.

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

In related news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total value of $1,191,105.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $194,319. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.