Lake Street Advisors Group LLC Takes Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Lake Street Advisors Group LLC purchased a new position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,396 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in A. O. Smith by 11.3% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 225,930 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $20,212,000 after buying an additional 22,859 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in A. O. Smith during the second quarter worth about $228,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 222.0% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 25,255 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,259,000 after purchasing an additional 17,411 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 84.8% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 51,518 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,609,000 after buying an additional 23,640 shares during the period. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 119.8% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 21,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,914,000 after buying an additional 11,663 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total value of $1,191,105.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $194,319. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AOS. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. DA Davidson downgraded A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $75.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com cut A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.71.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of A. O. Smith stock opened at $76.87 on Monday. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1 year low of $65.20 and a 1 year high of $92.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $82.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.33. The company has a market capitalization of $11.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.15.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82. The company had revenue of $957.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a $0.34 dividend. This is a boost from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is presently 35.23%.

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.