New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 251,921 Shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS)

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its holdings in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 73.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 90,610 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 251,921 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.06% of A. O. Smith worth $5,922,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter worth about $7,015,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 46,416 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,166,000 after buying an additional 5,972 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $89,000 after buying an additional 371 shares during the period. Semanteon Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter worth about $218,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 288.4% during the 4th quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 17,747 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,211,000 after buying an additional 13,178 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 3.0%

Shares of AOS stock traded up $2.04 on Tuesday, hitting $71.11. The stock had a trading volume of 1,668,040 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,319,286. The business has a 50 day moving average of $66.62 and a 200 day moving average of $66.63. The stock has a market cap of $10.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.20. 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 $92.06.

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, 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 last year, the company posted $1.00 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. A. O. Smith's payout ratio is 37.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. Citigroup lowered their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped 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 report on Wednesday, April 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $75.71.

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.