BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Sells 126,397 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lessened its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 40.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 185,395 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 126,397 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. owned approximately 0.13% of A. O. Smith worth $16,654,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sarasin & Partners LLP acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter worth $78,766,000. Select Equity Group L.P. grew its position in A. O. Smith by 11.6% during the second quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 3,852,467 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $315,055,000 after buying an additional 400,304 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith during the second quarter valued at about $22,288,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $24,060,000. Finally, Distillate Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 100,431.5% in the 2nd quarter. Distillate Capital Partners LLC now owns 162,861 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $13,319,000 after acquiring an additional 162,699 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

NYSE:AOS traded up $0.47 on Friday, reaching $73.44. The stock had a trading volume of 716,572 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,045,790. 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 company has a market capitalization of $10.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.17. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1-year low of $70.73 and a 1-year high of $92.44. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $79.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $81.80.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 14.41%. The business had revenue of $957.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $960.36 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. Research analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.78 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This is a positive change from A. O. Smith's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective 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. UBS Group raised shares of A. O. Smith from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $75.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird lowered 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 research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson lowered shares of A. O. Smith from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, A. O. Smith has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $86.71.

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.