A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Shares Sold by Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. trimmed its holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 4.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 150,205 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 7,699 shares during the quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $13,493,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AOS. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Isthmus Partners LLC purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Quarry LP boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 214.9% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the third quarter worth about $37,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of AOS opened at $73.44 on Monday. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1 year low of $70.73 and a 1 year high of $92.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.67. The company’s fifty day moving average is $79.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.80.

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

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This is a positive change from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is presently 35.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AOS. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group raised A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $75.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. DA Davidson cut shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded 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 given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, A. O. Smith has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.71.

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.