A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS Shares Purchased by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) by 26.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 665,793 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 139,117 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $48,876,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AOS. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 44,400.0% during the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 445 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new position in A. O. Smith in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP raised its position in A. O. Smith by 988.9% during the 2nd quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP now owns 490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 445 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the third quarter valued at about $37,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at A. O. Smith

In related news, SVP Darrell W. Schuh sold 356 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.89, for a total value of $28,440.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 3,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $263,237.55. This represents a 9.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

AOS stock opened at $77.21 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $10.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.00, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.36. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $73.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $70.72. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 1 year low of $58.83 and a 1 year high of $81.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.50.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $912.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $928.97 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 29.51%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th were issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 37.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $78.00 price target (up from $72.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $69.00 price objective on A. O. Smith and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $85.00 target price on A. O. Smith and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.00.

A. O. Smith Profile

A. O. Smith Corporation, based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a leading manufacturer of water heating and water treatment products for residential and commercial applications. Since its founding in 1874, the company has built a reputation for producing reliable, energy-efficient water heaters, boilers and pressure vessels. Its product portfolio encompasses gas, electric, condensing and tankless water heaters, as well as specialty boilers designed to meet a variety of building and industrial needs.

The company operates through two primary segments: North America and Asia.