Unigestion Holding SA Trims Stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Unigestion Holding SA trimmed its stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 24.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 153,541 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 49,669 shares during the quarter. Unigestion Holding SA’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $13,793,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in A. O. Smith in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Isthmus Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Quarry LP lifted 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 period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group upgraded A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird decreased 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 report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson downgraded A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $84.29.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

A. O. Smith stock opened at $72.98 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $77.09 and a 200-day moving average of $80.79. 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $70.73 and a 52-week high of $92.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.21, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.16.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $957.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 earned $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.78 EPS for the current 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 paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. This is a positive change from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.79%.

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.