Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC Purchases 51,719 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 924.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 57,312 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 51,719 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC's holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $3,909,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Greenleaf Trust raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 5,873 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in A. O. Smith by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 34,838 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,376,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the period. Advisory Alpha LLC raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 3,454 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $236,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 9,198 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $627,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 27,307 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,863,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of A. O. Smith stock opened at $67.10 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $65.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.47. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12 month low of $58.83 and a 12 month high of $92.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.49, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $963.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $950.56 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.00 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. A. O. Smith's payout ratio is 37.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on AOS. StockNews.com upgraded A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus raised 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. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their target price on A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $76.17.

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.

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