A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS Shares Bought by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) by 26.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 665,793 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 139,117 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.48% of A. O. Smith worth $48,876,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AOS. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 2nd quarter worth $1,045,000. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the second quarter worth about $2,837,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,265,091 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $82,952,000 after acquiring an additional 13,906 shares in the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 19.9% during the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 273,216 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $20,057,000 after acquiring an additional 45,299 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at about $750,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at A. O. Smith

In related news, SVP Darrell W. Schuh sold 356 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.89, for a total value of $28,440.84. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 3,295 shares in the company, valued at $263,237.55. This represents a 9.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on AOS. Stifel Nicolaus set a $85.00 target price on A. O. Smith and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $78.00 target price (up from $72.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $77.00 target price on A. O. Smith in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.00.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of AOS opened at $77.21 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.94. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 1-year low of $58.83 and a 1-year high of $81.86. The stock has a market cap of $10.68 billion, a PE ratio of 20.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.36. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $73.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.72.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $912.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $928.97 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 29.51% and a net margin of 14.26%.The business’s revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.85 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th were issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.31%.

About A. O. Smith

A. O. Smith Corporation, based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a leading manufacturer of water heating and water treatment products for residential and commercial applications. Since its founding in 1874, the company has built a reputation for producing reliable, energy-efficient water heaters, boilers and pressure vessels. Its product portfolio encompasses gas, electric, condensing and tankless water heaters, as well as specialty boilers designed to meet a variety of building and industrial needs.

The company operates through two primary segments: North America and Asia.