Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Has $482,000 Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise decreased its position in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,368 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 250 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $482,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Isthmus Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Quarry LP boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 214.9% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC acquired a new position in A. O. Smith during the third quarter worth about $37,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of AOS opened at $73.17 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $80.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.93. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12 month low of $70.73 and a 12 month high of $92.44. The company has a market capitalization of $10.61 billion, a PE ratio of 19.26, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

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

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This is an increase from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AOS. Stifel Nicolaus reduced 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. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of 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 shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group raised A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $75.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.71.

A. O. Smith Company 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.