Man Group plc Grows Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Man Group plc raised its stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 82.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 151,182 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 68,214 shares during the period. Man Group plc owned approximately 0.10% of A. O. Smith worth $10,312,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AOS. Greenleaf Trust increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 5,873 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings 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 valued at $2,376,000 after buying an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC grew its holdings in A. O. Smith by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 3,454 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $236,000 after buying an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. increased its stake in A. O. Smith by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 9,198 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $627,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 27,307 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,863,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AOS shares. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Saturday, May 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $76.17.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:AOS opened at $70.51 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.02 billion, a PE ratio of 19.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $65.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.51. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1 year low of $58.83 and a 1 year high of $92.45. 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 (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last posted 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 company had revenue of $963.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.00 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. 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.

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