Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. Acquires Shares of 904 A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 904 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $82,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the second quarter worth $228,000. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 222.0% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 25,255 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,259,000 after purchasing an additional 17,411 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 119.8% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 21,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,914,000 after purchasing an additional 11,663 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in A. O. Smith during the second quarter worth about $4,127,000. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new position in A. O. Smith during the first quarter worth about $1,495,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of AOS opened at $74.09 on Thursday. A. O. Smith Co. has a fifty-two week low of $70.73 and a fifty-two week high of $92.44. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $79.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.63. The company has a market cap of $10.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.50, a PEG ratio of 2.00 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.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting 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 the consensus estimate of $960.36 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. This is a boost from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 35.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AOS. DA Davidson downgraded shares of 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. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating 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 on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research note 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 Wednesday, November 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.71.

A. O. Smith Company 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.