A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Shares Sold by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC trimmed its holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 82.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,118 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 24,312 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $460,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Isthmus Partners LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 214.9% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 359 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith in the third quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AOS. StockNews.com upgraded A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. DA Davidson downgraded A. O. Smith from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $86.71.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of AOS traded down $1.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $74.86. 1,289,404 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 969,329. The business's 50 day moving average is $81.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.61. A. O. Smith Co. has a fifty-two week low of $70.97 and a fifty-two week high of $92.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 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 (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.82. The firm had revenue of $957.80 million during 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 in the prior year, the business posted $0.90 earnings per share. 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This is an increase from A. O. Smith's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.82%. A. O. Smith's payout ratio is 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.