Intech Investment Management LLC Sells 63,320 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Intech Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 90.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,368 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 63,320 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC's holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $572,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AOS. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in A. O. Smith during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Isthmus Partners LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Quarry LP boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the third quarter valued at about $37,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on AOS shares. 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. UBS Group upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the company from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" 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 for the company. in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded 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 given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $86.71.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of A. O. Smith stock traded up $0.16 during trading on Monday, reaching $74.65. The company's stock had a trading volume of 841,193 shares, compared to its average volume of 967,281. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52 week low of $70.73 and a 52 week high of $92.44. The firm has a market cap of $10.82 billion, a PE ratio of 19.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.17. The business's 50-day moving average price is $79.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.67 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 for the quarter, meeting 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 company had revenue of $957.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $960.36 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This is an increase from A. O. Smith's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. A. O. Smith's payout ratio is 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.