Boston Trust Walden Corp Buys 21,503 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 777,254 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 21,503 shares during the quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned about 0.54% of A. O. Smith worth $53,016,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of AOS. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,721,581 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $693,630,000 after acquiring an additional 299,766 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 1.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,586,905 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $321,348,000 after purchasing an additional 52,593 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 3.9% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,302,659 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $206,848,000 after buying an additional 87,458 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its position in A. O. Smith by 40.1% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,648,825 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $112,467,000 after buying an additional 471,990 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 7.9% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,137,184 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $102,153,000 after buying an additional 83,495 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE:AOS traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $65.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,238,955 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,525,223. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The company has a market cap of $9.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.17. A. O. Smith Co. has a one year low of $64.94 and a one year high of $92.44. The business's 50-day moving average is $70.04 and its 200-day moving average is $76.73.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.05). A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 13.98%. Equities research analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio is 37.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AOS. StockNews.com raised A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. DA Davidson downgraded A. O. Smith from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $80.86.

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.