A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Shares Sold by Tidal Investments LLC

Tidal Investments LLC decreased its holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 26.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 13,955 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 5,104 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $1,254,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 7.2% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,007 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $164,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in A. O. Smith by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 812 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,227 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $110,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 2,989 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $269,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $291,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on AOS. StockNews.com cut shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. DA Davidson lowered 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. Citigroup reduced their target price on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.17.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 2.7 %

A. O. Smith stock opened at $68.91 on Thursday. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $75.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.34. A. O. Smith Co. has a fifty-two week low of $68.89 and a fifty-two week high of $92.44. The company has a market capitalization of $9.99 billion, a PE ratio of 18.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.16.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.82. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 14.41%. The firm had revenue of $957.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $960.36 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.90 EPS. Research analysts expect 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a $0.34 dividend. This is a positive change from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.79%.

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.