Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Trims Stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board cut its position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 94.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,825 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 47,768 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board's holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $254,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,684,000. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the third quarter valued at approximately $262,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the third quarter valued at approximately $268,000. S&CO Inc. purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the third quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in A. O. Smith by 20.9% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 84,256 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $7,569,000 after buying an additional 14,587 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. 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. UBS Group upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson lowered shares of A. O. Smith from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $86.71.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AOS traded up $0.47 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $73.44. 716,572 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,045,790. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The business's fifty day moving average is $79.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.85. A. O. Smith Co. has a one year low of $70.73 and a one year high of $92.44. The stock has a market cap of $10.65 billion, a PE ratio of 19.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.17.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82. The company had revenue of $957.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $960.36 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.41% and a return on equity of 30.09%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This is an increase from A. O. Smith's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.