Todd Asset Management LLC Makes New $24.53 Million Investment in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS)

Key Points

• Todd Asset Management LLC has acquired 375,365 shares in A. O. Smith Corporation, valued at approximately $24.5 million, making up about 0.26% of the company.
• Analysts have provided mixed ratings for A. O. Smith, with target price ranges from $65.00 to $82.00 and an average rating of "Hold."
• A. O. Smith recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.34 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 1.9%.

Todd Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 375,365 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $24,534,000. Todd Asset Management LLC owned 0.26% of A. O. Smith as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC acquired a new position in A. O. Smith in the 1st quarter valued at $318,000. CCM Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 1st quarter worth $754,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 1st quarter worth $18,971,000. Entropy Technologies LP boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 30.6% during the 1st quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 21,558 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,409,000 after purchasing an additional 5,056 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,011,496 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $327,551,000 after buying an additional 307,201 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $76.00 price objective (up previously from $74.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $77.43.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

AOS traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $72.50. 426,121 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,555,757. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.81. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 12 month low of $58.83 and a 12 month high of $92.06. The stock has a market cap of $10.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $997.89 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.42% and a net margin of 13.68%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.06 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Kevin J. Wheeler sold 22,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.26, for a total value of $1,581,972.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 100,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,172,105.22. This represents a 18.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

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.