LPL Financial LLC Has $6.93 Million Position in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS)

LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 42.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 105,960 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 31,527 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.07% of A. O. Smith worth $6,926,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AOS. Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 1st quarter worth about $72,000. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 22.1% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,181 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the period. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter worth about $84,000. South Dakota Investment Council acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 1st quarter worth about $92,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 40.4% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,571 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $103,000 after acquiring an additional 452 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company's stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

NYSE AOS traded down $1.21 during trading on Thursday, hitting $72.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 487,165 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,560,451. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $68.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.81. The firm has a market cap of $10.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.22. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 52 week low of $58.83 and a 52 week high of $92.06.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.06 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AOS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $76.00 price target (up from $74.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Monday, July 28th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on A. O. Smith from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $77.43.

Insider Buying and Selling at A. O. Smith

In related news, Chairman Kevin J. Wheeler sold 22,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chairman owned 100,647 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,172,105.22. The trade was a 18.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

A. O. Smith Company 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.