Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Decreases Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lowered its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 26.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 85,269 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 30,297 shares during the quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. owned 0.06% of A. O. Smith worth $7,660,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AOS. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 11.0% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 24,552 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,206,000 after acquiring an additional 2,435 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its holdings in A. O. Smith by 114.0% during the third quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 6,538 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $587,000 after buying an additional 3,483 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at about $256,000. Trajan Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Trajan Wealth LLC now owns 3,073 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at about $226,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AOS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group raised 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 report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. DA Davidson cut 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 note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $86.71.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AOS traded down $0.88 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $75.15. 745,619 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 966,356. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12 month low of $70.97 and a 12 month high of $92.44. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $81.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 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 for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.82. The firm 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.78 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given 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 is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.81%. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.