Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. Makes New Investment in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 904 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $82,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AOS. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 196,879 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $17,686,000 after purchasing an additional 19,611 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at about $850,000. FMR LLC grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 180.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 125,384 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,263,000 after acquiring an additional 80,632 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 9,765 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $877,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of AOS opened at $74.09 on Thursday. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1 year low of $70.73 and a 1 year high of $92.44. The company has a market cap of $10.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.67. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $79.64 and a 200-day moving average of $81.63.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.41% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The business had revenue of $957.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $960.36 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. This is an increase from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is presently 35.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on AOS shares. 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 research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. DA Davidson cut shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, A. O. Smith presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.71.

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.