BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Acquires 128,181 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 69.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 311,792 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 128,181 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. owned approximately 0.21% of A. O. Smith worth $25,498,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in A. O. Smith by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 186,247 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,231,000 after purchasing an additional 2,851 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 2,462.1% in the 2nd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 6,764 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $553,000 after buying an additional 6,500 shares during the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the second quarter worth $250,000. Railway Pension Investments Ltd increased its position in A. O. Smith by 75.2% during the second quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd now owns 38,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,124,000 after acquiring an additional 16,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 4.5% in the second quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 35,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,873,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on AOS. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $97.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.67.

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

In related news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total value of $1,191,105.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $194,319. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

A. O. Smith stock traded up $1.67 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $83.77. The stock had a trading volume of 1,007,063 shares, compared to its average volume of 841,113. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52-week low of $64.14 and a 52-week high of $92.44. The company has a market capitalization of $12.22 billion, a PE ratio of 21.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.15. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $82.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by ($0.01). A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 31.04% and a net margin of 14.67%. The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.01 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.07 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 33.16%.

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.