A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Shares Sold by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,218,779 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 6,667 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $109,483,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in A. O. Smith during the second quarter worth $25,000. Isthmus Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 214.9% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC purchased a new position in A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

NYSE:AOS opened at $75.43 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $79.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.72. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1-year low of $70.73 and a 1-year high of $92.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.85, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.17.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82. The firm had revenue of $957.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $960.36 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 14.41%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.78 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. This is an increase from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on AOS shares. UBS Group raised A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $75.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. DA Davidson lowered A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped 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. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.71.

A. O. Smith 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.