A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Shares Sold by Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC

Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC cut its stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,437 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 345 shares during the period. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $219,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the second quarter worth $25,000. Isthmus Partners LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 214.9% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

A. O. Smith Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:AOS opened at $75.09 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $81.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $82.53. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12 month low of $72.41 and a 12 month high of $92.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a market cap of $10.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.17.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.82. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.41% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The business had revenue of $957.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $960.36 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.78 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. This is a positive change from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 35.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AOS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating 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 boosted their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson lowered A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.71.

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.