Pembroke Management LTD Has $23.45 Million Stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Pembroke Management LTD trimmed its stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 3.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 261,083 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 9,665 shares during the quarter. A. O. Smith makes up about 3.0% of Pembroke Management LTD's portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Pembroke Management LTD owned 0.18% of A. O. Smith worth $23,453,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 38.1% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 10,286 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $920,000 after purchasing an additional 2,840 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 1st quarter worth approximately $212,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 59.8% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 174,532 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $15,614,000 after acquiring an additional 65,297 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 1st quarter valued at $109,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 36.9% during the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 15,043 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,345,000 after purchasing an additional 4,052 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AOS shares. DA Davidson lowered shares of A. O. Smith from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com cut shares of A. O. Smith from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, October 26th. UBS Group upgraded A. O. Smith from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $86.71.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

NYSE:AOS traded up $0.30 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $75.40. 811,313 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,181,524. The company has a market capitalization of $10.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The business has a 50 day moving average of $81.93 and a 200 day moving average of $83.00. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1-year low of $70.30 and a 1-year 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, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82. The business had revenue of $957.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.78 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This is a positive change from A. O. Smith's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.79%.

Insider Activity at A. O. Smith

In other A. O. Smith news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,399 shares in the company, valued at $194,319. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

A. O. Smith Profile

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.