Atwater Malick LLC Buys 4,129 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Atwater Malick LLC boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 3.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 115,723 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,129 shares during the period. A. O. Smith accounts for about 2.6% of Atwater Malick LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Atwater Malick LLC owned about 0.08% of A. O. Smith worth $7,564,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Greenleaf Trust increased its stake in A. O. Smith by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 5,873 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $401,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in A. O. Smith by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 34,838 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,376,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 27,307 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,863,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 31,511 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,149,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 4,803 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $362,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AOS shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $76.17.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AOS traded up $0.61 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $64.41. 1,316,260 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,247,253. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.96. A. O. Smith Co. has a twelve month low of $58.83 and a twelve month high of $92.45. The company has a market cap of $9.15 billion, a PE ratio of 17.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $65.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.74.

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

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.