Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC Trims Stock Position in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS)

Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 12.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 107,863 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 15,901 shares during the period. A. O. Smith makes up 1.6% of Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.07% of A. O. Smith worth $7,050,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter worth approximately $66,000. Intact Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in A. O. Smith in the 1st quarter worth about $72,000. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter valued at about $84,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 40.0% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,299 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 40.4% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,571 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 0.1%

A. O. Smith stock traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $65.60. The company had a trading volume of 1,031,904 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,289,535. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.01. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 12-month low of $58.83 and a 12-month high of $92.45. The firm has a market cap of $9.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $65.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.70.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $963.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $950.56 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.74% and a return on equity of 28.39%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.00 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. A. O. Smith's payout ratio is 37.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AOS. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price 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. Citigroup lowered their price target on A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began 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 target on the stock. Five investment 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 has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $75.29.

About A. O. Smith

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.