JPMorgan Chase & Co. Sells 29,166 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased its position in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 734,993 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 29,166 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.51% of A. O. Smith worth $66,024,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sarasin & Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the third quarter worth about $78,766,000. Select Equity Group L.P. boosted its holdings in 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 worth $315,055,000 after buying an additional 400,304 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 92.4% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 761,410 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $68,397,000 after buying an additional 365,710 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,721,581 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $693,630,000 after acquiring an additional 299,766 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the third quarter worth $24,060,000. Hedge funds and other 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 target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $78.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded A. O. Smith from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded A. O. Smith from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $83.17.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

AOS traded up $1.27 during trading on Friday, reaching $68.60. The stock had a trading volume of 932,791 shares, compared to its average volume of 873,995. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $72.46 and a 200-day moving average of $79.17. A. O. Smith Co. has a one year low of $67.17 and a one year high of $92.44. The stock has a market cap of $9.95 billion, a PE ratio of 18.05, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.16.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 14.41%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.77 EPS 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 paid a $0.34 dividend. This is a boost from A. O. Smith's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. A. O. Smith's dividend 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.