Martingale Asset Management L P Sells 50,193 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Martingale Asset Management L P cut its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 67.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,135 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 50,193 shares during the quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $2,168,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Isthmus Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 214.9% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC bought a new stake in A. O. Smith during the third quarter valued at about $37,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

NYSE:AOS opened at $74.49 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.80 billion, a PE ratio of 19.60, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.17. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $79.09 and its 200 day moving average is $81.45. A. O. Smith Co. has a fifty-two week low of $70.73 and a fifty-two week high of $92.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.67.

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

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. 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 is presently 35.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AOS. StockNews.com raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group raised shares of 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 price objective on the stock. in a research 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 research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced 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 report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.