Cerity Partners LLC Lowers Position in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS)

Cerity Partners LLC reduced its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 42.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,969 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 10,254 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $913,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in A. O. Smith by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,117,943 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $962,985,000 after purchasing an additional 148,432 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its holdings in A. O. Smith by 67.3% in the first quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 5,188,561 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $339,124,000 after purchasing an additional 2,086,433 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in A. O. Smith by 26.8% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,704,295 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $320,880,000 after purchasing an additional 995,043 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in A. O. Smith by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,698,517 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $251,751,000 after purchasing an additional 111,612 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 19.0% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,618,191 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $178,587,000 after acquiring an additional 417,595 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on AOS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on A. O. Smith in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on A. O. Smith from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $76.57.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

NYSE AOS traded down $1.88 during trading on Friday, reaching $72.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,924,083 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,586,319. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.24 billion, a PE ratio of 20.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $66.80 and a 200 day moving average of $66.75. A. O. Smith Corporation has a one year low of $58.83 and a one year high of $92.06.

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

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.