Patten & Patten Inc. TN Trims Stock Holdings in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS)

Key Points

• Patten & Patten Inc. reduced its stake in A. O. Smith Corporation by 2.6% in the first quarter, owning 185,556 shares valued at approximately $12.1 million.
• A. O. Smith recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.34 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.89%.
• Despite reporting earnings of $1.07 per share, A. O. Smith's revenue was down 1.3% year-over-year, indicating possible challenges despite exceeding analysts' expectations.

Patten & Patten Inc. TN trimmed its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 2.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 185,556 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 4,870 shares during the quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN owned approximately 0.13% of A. O. Smith worth $12,128,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AOS. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 16.6% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 122,726 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $8,371,000 after purchasing an additional 17,442 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 74,433 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,077,000 after purchasing an additional 5,390 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 72.3% in the fourth quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 112,505 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $7,674,000 after purchasing an additional 47,200 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 251,819 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $17,275,000 after purchasing an additional 17,732 shares during the period. Finally, Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 48.8% in the fourth quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 15,912 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,085,000 after purchasing an additional 5,218 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AOS traded up $0.52 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $71.01. 858,271 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,584,522. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $66.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.82. A. O. Smith Corporation has a twelve month low of $58.83 and a twelve month high of $92.06. The firm has a market cap of $10.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.80, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.10. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.68% and a return on equity of 28.42%. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $997.89 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.06 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $77.43.

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

In other news, Chairman Kevin J. Wheeler sold 22,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.26, for a total transaction of $1,581,972.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 100,647 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,172,105.22. The trade was a 18.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

A. O. Smith 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.