Fisher Asset Management LLC Increases Stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,302,659 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 87,458 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned approximately 1.59% of A. O. Smith worth $206,848,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Isthmus Partners LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter worth $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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AOS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. 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 report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group raised A. O. Smith from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the company from $75.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $86.71.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AOS traded down $1.52 on Tuesday, hitting $73.91. The company had a trading volume of 850,786 shares, compared to its average volume of 971,954. The company has a market cap of $10.72 billion, a PE ratio of 19.45, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.17. The business has a 50 day moving average of $79.81 and a 200 day moving average of $81.72. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52-week low of $70.73 and a 52-week high of $92.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.82. The company had revenue of $957.80 million for 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 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

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

A. O. Smith 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.