A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Position Lifted by Achmea Investment Management B.V.

Achmea Investment Management B.V. raised its stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 44.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 160,035 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 49,166 shares during the period. Achmea Investment Management B.V. owned 0.11% of A. O. Smith worth $13,087,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in A. O. Smith by 10.9% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 200,425 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $16,391,000 after buying an additional 19,621 shares during the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $606,000. Prudential PLC raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 34.4% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 28,581 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,337,000 after acquiring an additional 7,323 shares in the last quarter. Certuity LLC lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 11.9% during the second quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 2,826 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Isthmus Partners LLC acquired a new position in A. O. Smith in the second quarter worth $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other A. O. Smith news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total transaction of $1,191,105.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $194,319. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AOS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $97.00 to $98.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.67.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 0.3 %

A. O. Smith stock opened at $78.46 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $82.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $84.03. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52-week low of $64.14 and a 52-week high of $92.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.33, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1 billion. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 31.04% and a net margin of 14.67%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.01 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.16%.

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.