Raymond James & Associates Sells 94,256 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Raymond James & Associates trimmed its holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 57.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 70,789 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 94,256 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates' holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $6,359,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 11.3% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 225,930 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $20,212,000 after buying an additional 22,859 shares during the period. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith in the second quarter valued at about $228,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 222.0% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 25,255 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,259,000 after purchasing an additional 17,411 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 84.8% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 51,518 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,609,000 after purchasing an additional 23,640 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 119.8% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 21,400 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,914,000 after purchasing an additional 11,663 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total transaction of $1,191,105.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,399 shares in the company, valued at $194,319. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company's stock.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of A. O. Smith stock traded up $0.30 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $75.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 811,308 shares, compared to its average volume of 966,549. The company has a market cap of $11.00 billion, a PE ratio of 19.84, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.15. 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 price of $81.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $83.02. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12-month low of $70.30 and a 12-month high of $92.44.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, hitting 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 in the previous year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. Analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a $0.34 dividend. This is an increase from A. O. Smith's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. A. O. Smith's payout ratio is currently 35.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AOS. Stifel Nicolaus cut 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 research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, October 26th. UBS Group upgraded A. O. Smith from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. DA Davidson lowered 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, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $86.71.

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.