Gotham Asset Management LLC Acquires 33,387 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 150.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 55,617 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 33,387 shares during the quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC's holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $3,794,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Czech National Bank grew its position in A. O. Smith by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 25,826 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,762,000 after acquiring an additional 1,390 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in A. O. Smith by 23.0% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 329,436 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $22,471,000 after purchasing an additional 61,602 shares in the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its stake in A. O. Smith by 99.9% during the 4th quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 5,975 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $408,000 after buying an additional 2,986 shares during the period. Annex Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 48.0% in the 4th quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 232,047 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $15,828,000 after buying an additional 75,281 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Guinness Asset Management LTD boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 7,531 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $514,000 after buying an additional 1,082 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company's stock.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 0.9%

AOS traded down $0.64 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $69.87. 189,596 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,160,546. 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 fifty-two week low of $58.83 and a fifty-two week high of $92.45. The company's fifty day moving average price is $65.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.93 billion, a PE ratio of 19.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.28.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 period last year, the business posted $1.00 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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 report on Saturday, May 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group cut their price target on A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $76.17.

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.