Welch & Forbes LLC Raises Holdings in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS)

Welch & Forbes LLC lifted its holdings in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 4.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 592,981 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 24,368 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC owned about 0.41% of A. O. Smith worth $38,757,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter worth approximately $66,000. Intact Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 1st quarter worth approximately $72,000. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 22.1% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,181 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter worth approximately $84,000. Finally, 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 purchasing an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AOS has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on A. O. Smith in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on 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 reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $75.29.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE AOS traded down $0.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $70.23. The company had a trading volume of 759,738 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,307,295. The company has a market capitalization of $9.98 billion, a PE ratio of 19.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 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 1-year low of $58.83 and a 1-year high of $92.45. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $66.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.64.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $963.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $950.56 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.39% and a net margin of 13.74%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.00 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.99%.

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.