A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) Shares Sold by Manning & Napier Advisors LLC

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 59.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,751 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 14,527 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC's holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $637,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Intact Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the first quarter valued at $72,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in A. O. Smith by 24.9% during the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,228 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $538,000 after acquiring an additional 1,642 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 1st quarter valued at about $280,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.3% in the first quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 787,518 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $51,472,000 after purchasing an additional 10,264 shares during the period. Finally, Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 27.6% in the first quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 8,580 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $561,000 after purchasing an additional 1,854 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company's stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of AOS traded up $0.98 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $65.65. The stock had a trading volume of 2,027,500 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,287,666. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $65.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.83. A. O. Smith Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $58.83 and a fifty-two week high of $92.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.34, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.61.

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

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. A. O. Smith's payout ratio is currently 37.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on AOS. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Tuesday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average 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.