Sarasin & Partners LLP Takes Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Sarasin & Partners LLP purchased a new position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 1,134,952 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $74,180,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,231,084 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $83,972,000 after purchasing an additional 12,305 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in A. O. Smith by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 27,825 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,898,000 after purchasing an additional 1,834 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 124.5% in the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,694 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $457,000 after purchasing an additional 3,712 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter worth approximately $7,015,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 122,726 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,371,000 after acquiring an additional 17,442 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE:AOS opened at $64.84 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $65.49 and a 200 day moving average of $67.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.86, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52 week low of $58.83 and a 52 week high of $92.45.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.05. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 13.98%. The company had revenue of $963.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $950.56 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.00 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 37.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AOS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Citigroup dropped their price target on A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, A. O. Smith presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.17.

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.