A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Stock Holdings Lifted by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 65.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 325,608 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 128,729 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.22% of A. O. Smith worth $22,210,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,231,084 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $83,972,000 after purchasing an additional 12,305 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 27,825 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,898,000 after buying an additional 1,834 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 124.5% in the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,694 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $457,000 after acquiring an additional 3,712 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter valued at $7,015,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 16.6% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 122,726 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $8,371,000 after acquiring an additional 17,442 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AOS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Saturday, May 10th. StockNews.com raised A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup reduced their target price on A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $76.17.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of A. O. Smith stock traded up $0.58 on Thursday, reaching $68.93. 418,729 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,152,945. The firm has a market cap of $9.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.28. The company's 50-day moving average is $65.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.55. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1-year low of $58.83 and a 1-year high of $92.45.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.05. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 28.87%. The company had revenue of $963.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $950.56 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.00 earnings per share. A. O. Smith's revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.99%.

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.