Earnest Partners LLC Has $152.91 Million Position in A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Earnest Partners LLC raised its holdings in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) by 1.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,082,982 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 36,122 shares during the quarter. Earnest Partners LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $152,912,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 3,125.0% during the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 387 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new position in A. O. Smith during the second quarter worth $30,000. Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 988.9% during the second quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP now owns 490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 445 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the third quarter worth about $37,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AOS shares. Robert W. Baird set a $77.00 price objective on A. O. Smith in a report on Friday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $85.00 target price on A. O. Smith and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $69.00 price target on A. O. Smith and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $78.00 price objective (up from $72.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Friday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.00.

Insider Activity at A. O. Smith

In related news, SVP Darrell W. Schuh sold 1,104 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.39, for a total value of $82,126.56. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 2,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $163,732.39. This trade represents a 33.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

NYSE AOS opened at $66.83 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.67. A. O. Smith Corporation has a twelve month low of $58.83 and a twelve month high of $81.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.24 billion, a PE ratio of 17.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.33. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.06. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 29.51% and a net margin of 14.26%.The company had revenue of $912.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $928.97 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th were issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is presently 37.31%.

About A. O. Smith

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.