WealthPlan Investment Management LLC Grows Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

WealthPlan Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 89.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,206 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,079 shares during the period. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $3,252,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AOS. Sarasin & Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the third quarter valued at about $78,766,000. Select Equity Group L.P. lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 11.6% in the second quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 3,852,467 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $315,055,000 after acquiring an additional 400,304 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the second quarter worth about $22,288,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the third quarter worth about $24,060,000. Finally, Distillate Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 100,431.5% in the second quarter. Distillate Capital Partners LLC now owns 162,861 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,319,000 after purchasing an additional 162,699 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:AOS opened at $75.09 on Tuesday. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1 year low of $72.41 and a 1 year high of $92.44. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $81.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.89 billion, a PE ratio of 19.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82. The firm had revenue of $957.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 previous year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. On average, equities 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a $0.34 dividend. This is a positive change from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.81%. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is presently 35.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AOS shares. DA Davidson cut A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group raised A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.71.

A. O. Smith 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.