M&T Bank Corp Purchases 253 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

M&T Bank Corp raised its position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,785 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $609,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

A. O. Smith Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE AOS opened at $70.81 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $80.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.02. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1 year low of $70.73 and a 1 year high of $92.44. The firm has a market cap of $10.27 billion, a PE ratio of 18.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.16.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $957.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $960.36 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.77 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This is a positive change from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 35.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AOS. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price 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, December 11th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com cut A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup dropped their price objective 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. Finally, 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 research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.17.

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.