A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Shares Sold by Citigroup Inc.

Citigroup Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 181,437 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 19,163 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned about 0.13% of A. O. Smith worth $16,298,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AOS. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in A. O. Smith in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Isthmus Partners LLC acquired a new position in A. O. Smith during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Quarry LP increased its holdings 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 period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on AOS shares. StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group raised shares of A. O. Smith from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on 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. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target 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, DA Davidson downgraded A. O. Smith from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $86.71.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AOS traded up $0.20 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $74.10. 609,169 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 970,376. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a market cap of $10.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $79.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.58. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1-year low of $70.73 and a 1-year high of $92.44.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.82. The business had revenue of $957.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a $0.34 dividend. This is a boost from A. O. Smith's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.79%.

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.