UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Purchases 10,324 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 589.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,075 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,324 shares during the quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $1,080,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 10,836 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $894,000 after buying an additional 1,325 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter valued at $247,000. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 168,182 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,865,000 after purchasing an additional 6,012 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 21.5% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 10,008 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $825,000 after purchasing an additional 1,772 shares during the period. Finally, IFG Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,240,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE AOS traded up $0.29 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $80.76. 1,958,307 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 951,373. The firm has a market cap of $11.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.30, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $83.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $83.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.06. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12-month low of $64.14 and a 12-month high of $92.44.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1 billion. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 30.94% and a net margin of 14.94%. A. O. Smith’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.01 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.09 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on AOS. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Stifel Nicolaus raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $97.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.29.

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.