BNP Paribas Financial Markets Purchases 19,611 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 196,879 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 19,611 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.14% of A. O. Smith worth $17,686,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Isthmus Partners LLC bought a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Quarry LP lifted 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 buying an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC bought a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on AOS shares. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. DA Davidson lowered shares of A. O. Smith from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $86.71.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

AOS traded up $0.39 on Friday, reaching $74.49. The company had a trading volume of 381,326 shares, compared to its average volume of 954,527. 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 $10.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.17. The company's fifty day moving average is $79.09 and its 200 day moving average is $81.41. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $960.36 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.90 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This is an increase from A. O. Smith's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio is 35.79%.

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.