Confluence Investment Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Confluence Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 264,162 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 8,056 shares during the quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC owned about 0.18% of A. O. Smith worth $18,019,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 4.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,721,581 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $693,630,000 after buying an additional 299,766 shares during the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 11.6% during the 2nd quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 3,852,467 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $315,055,000 after purchasing an additional 400,304 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,586,905 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $321,348,000 after acquiring an additional 52,593 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in A. O. Smith by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,302,659 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $206,848,000 after buying an additional 87,458 shares during the period. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,046,798 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $167,387,000 after acquiring an additional 72,856 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company's stock.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

AOS stock traded down $0.88 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $67.33. 815,291 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 969,358. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $72.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.31. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52 week low of $67.29 and a 52 week high of $92.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.76 billion, a PE ratio of 17.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.16.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82. The firm had revenue of $957.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 period last year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a $0.34 dividend. This is an increase from A. O. Smith's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AOS shares. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $78.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on A. O. Smith from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on 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. UBS Group upgraded A. O. Smith from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson downgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $83.17.

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.