Virtu Financial LLC Raises Stock Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Virtu Financial LLC grew its holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 60.0% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,569 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,713 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $410,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 2nd quarter worth about $228,000. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 37.6% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 185,768 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,409,000 after buying an additional 50,798 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the second quarter worth approximately $1,372,000. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith in the third quarter valued at approximately $730,000. Finally, WealthPlan Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 89.3% in the third quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 36,206 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,252,000 after acquiring an additional 17,079 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on AOS shares. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group upgraded A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. DA Davidson cut A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on A. O. Smith from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, A. O. Smith has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.17.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of AOS stock opened at $72.49 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $76.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.58. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $70.73 and a 1 year high of $92.44. The firm has a market cap of $10.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.08, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.16.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82. The firm had revenue of $957.80 million during 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 earned $0.90 EPS. Analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.77 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. This is a boost from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is presently 35.79%.

About A. O. Smith

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.