Fmr LLC Purchases 80,632 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 180.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 125,384 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 80,632 shares during the period. FMR LLC owned approximately 0.09% of A. O. Smith worth $11,263,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 7.2% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,007 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $164,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 19.8% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 812 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in A. O. Smith by 12.5% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,227 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its stake in A. O. Smith by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 2,989 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $269,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in A. O. Smith by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,240 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AOS. DA Davidson cut A. O. Smith from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird dropped 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 report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group upgraded A. O. Smith from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup cut their price objective on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $78.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on A. O. Smith from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $84.14.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

NYSE:AOS traded down $0.27 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $72.62. 864,823 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 969,300. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $76.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $80.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.16. A. O. Smith Co. has a fifty-two week low of $70.73 and a fifty-two week high of $92.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.67.

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

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. This is an increase from A. O. Smith's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.