Claro Advisors LLC Trims Stock Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Claro Advisors LLC cut its stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 27.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,687 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,112 shares during the period. Claro Advisors LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $511,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AOS. Sarasin & Partners LLP purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith during the third quarter valued at about $78,766,000. Select Equity Group L.P. grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 11.6% during the 2nd quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 3,852,467 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $315,055,000 after purchasing an additional 400,304 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $22,288,000. Distillate Capital Partners LLC increased its position in A. O. Smith by 100,431.5% during the 2nd quarter. Distillate Capital Partners LLC now owns 162,861 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,319,000 after purchasing an additional 162,699 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in A. O. Smith by 43.8% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 461,852 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,075,000 after buying an additional 140,685 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AOS opened at $78.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.70. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1 year low of $65.08 and a 1 year high of $92.44. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $82.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $83.68. The firm has a market cap of $11.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.30, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.15.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1 billion. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.67% and a return on equity of 31.04%. A. O. Smith’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.01 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. This is an increase 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 dividend payout ratio is 32.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total transaction of $1,191,105.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $194,319. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AOS has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $97.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on 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. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on A. O. Smith from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.67.

A. O. Smith Company 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.