IFM Investors Pty Ltd Buys 3,808 Shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its position in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 16.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,861 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,808 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $1,756,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AOS. Norges Bank bought a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter worth $96,180,000. Sarasin & Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 1st quarter valued at about $74,180,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 26.8% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,704,295 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $320,880,000 after purchasing an additional 995,043 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 242.8% during the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 627,282 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $42,787,000 after purchasing an additional 444,307 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 19.0% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,618,191 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $178,587,000 after purchasing an additional 417,595 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 recently weighed in on AOS shares. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of 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. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started 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 on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $75.29.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 2.9%

Shares of NYSE AOS traded up $2.02 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $71.52. The stock had a trading volume of 355,614 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,296,532. The business's 50 day moving average is $66.43 and its 200-day moving average is $66.62. The company has a market cap of $10.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.97, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.20. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 52 week low of $58.83 and a 52 week high of $92.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $963.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $950.56 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.74% and a return on equity of 28.39%. The business's revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.00 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.99%.

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.