Sarasin & Partners LLP Buys New Holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Sarasin & Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 876,837 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $57,310,000. Sarasin & Partners LLP owned about 0.61% of A. O. Smith as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AOS. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 27,123 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,773,000 after purchasing an additional 1,297 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC now owns 39,896 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,608,000 after purchasing an additional 1,048 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 40.4% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,571 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 2,197.8% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,148 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $206,000 after purchasing an additional 3,011 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 25.2% in the 1st quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 330,819 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $21,622,000 after purchasing an additional 66,657 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AOS. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price 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. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock 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 Saturday, May 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $76.17.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of AOS stock traded down $0.45 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $63.85. 1,139,023 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,236,873. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1 year low of $58.83 and a 1 year high of $92.45. The stock has a market cap of $9.07 billion, a PE ratio of 17.59, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $65.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.85.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 13.98%. The business had revenue of $963.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $950.56 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.00 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were given a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.