iA Global Asset Management Inc. Has $878,000 Stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

iA Global Asset Management Inc. cut its position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 67.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,774 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 19,992 shares during the quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $878,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sarasin & Partners LLP acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith during the third quarter valued at approximately $78,766,000. Select Equity Group L.P. increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 11.6% in 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 acquiring an additional 400,304 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 92.4% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 761,410 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $68,397,000 after purchasing an additional 365,710 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 4.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,721,581 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $693,630,000 after purchasing an additional 299,766 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in A. O. Smith during the third quarter valued at $24,060,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AOS shares. DA Davidson downgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup decreased their target price on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $78.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $84.29.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE AOS traded down $0.91 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $72.98. 953,138 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 969,254. The company's fifty day moving average is $77.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.88. 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. The stock has a market cap of $10.58 billion, a PE ratio of 19.44, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82. The business 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 in the previous year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect 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 was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This is a boost from A. O. Smith's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. 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.