Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Acquires 13,010 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 4.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 286,735 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 13,010 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.20% of A. O. Smith worth $25,757,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 142,934 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $12,787,000 after buying an additional 6,307 shares during the last quarter. Twin Tree Management LP boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 188.9% during the first quarter. Twin Tree Management LP now owns 737 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 1,566 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 84.8% in the first 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 period. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 99.3% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,749 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $246,000 after buying an additional 1,370 shares in the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 21,529 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,926,000 after buying an additional 2,025 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on AOS shares. DA Davidson downgraded A. O. Smith from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price 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. UBS Group raised shares of A. O. Smith from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $86.71.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of AOS stock traded down $0.77 during trading on Friday, hitting $72.23. The company had a trading volume of 1,214,367 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,109,328. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52 week low of $72.15 and a 52 week high of $92.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.17. 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 stock's 50-day moving average is $80.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.23.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.82. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.41% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The firm had revenue of $957.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $960.36 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.90 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a $0.34 dividend. This is a boost from A. O. Smith's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.79%.

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.