Impax Asset Management Group plc Sells 115,611 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Impax Asset Management Group plc lowered its position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,133,600 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 115,611 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc owned 2.14% of A. O. Smith worth $281,491,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Isthmus Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 214.9% in 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 A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC purchased a new position in A. O. Smith during the third quarter valued at $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other A. O. Smith news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $194,319. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

NYSE:AOS traded up $0.79 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $75.93. The company had a trading volume of 709,013 shares, compared to its average volume of 964,176. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $81.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.90. The firm has a market cap of $11.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.98, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52 week low of $70.30 and a 52 week high of $92.44.

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 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.82. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 14.41%. The company had revenue of $957.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $960.36 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.90 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.78 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This is a boost from A. O. Smith's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio is 35.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. DA Davidson cut A. O. Smith from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research note 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. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $86.71.

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.