Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Sells 12,873 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. decreased its holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 21.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,653 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 12,873 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.'s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $4,281,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Isthmus Partners LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith in the second quarter worth $27,000. Quarry LP raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 214.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in A. O. Smith during the third quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AOS has been the subject of several research reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. DA Davidson cut A. O. Smith from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group raised A. O. Smith from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $86.71.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of A. O. Smith stock traded down $1.17 on Friday, reaching $74.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,289,404 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,216,214. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52 week low of $70.97 and a 52 week high of $92.44. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $81.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.58. 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 $10.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.17.

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, hitting analysts' consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 14.41%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This is an increase from A. O. Smith's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. A. O. Smith's 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.