Natixis Advisors LLC Buys 97,531 Shares of A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) by 44.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 319,113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 97,531 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $23,426,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AOS. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 3,125.0% in the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 387 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new stake in A. O. Smith in the second quarter worth $30,000. Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP increased its position in A. O. Smith by 988.9% during the second quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP now owns 490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 445 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith during the third quarter valued at $37,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AOS shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $75.00 target price on shares of A. O. Smith and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird set a $77.00 price objective on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Wednesday, December 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at A. O. Smith

In other news, SVP Darrell W. Schuh sold 1,104 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.39, for a total transaction of $82,126.56. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 2,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $163,732.39. The trade was a 33.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of AOS opened at $68.13 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $74.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $70.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.33. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 12-month low of $58.83 and a 12-month high of $81.86.

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

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.