40,341 Shares in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) Acquired by XTX Topco Ltd

XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 40,341 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $2,637,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AOS. TCTC Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 69.9% in the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 491 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter valued at $66,000. Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith during the first quarter worth about $72,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 22.1% in 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 period. Finally, Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter valued at about $84,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

A. O. Smith stock traded down $0.38 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $70.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,262,954 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,593,591. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.20. A. O. Smith Corporation has a twelve month low of $58.83 and a twelve month high of $92.06. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $66.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.84. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $997.89 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.42% and a net margin of 13.68%. A. O. Smith's revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.06 EPS. Research analysts forecast 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AOS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group increased their target price on A. O. Smith from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus increased 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. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on A. O. Smith in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Tuesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $77.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other A. O. Smith news, Chairman Kevin J. Wheeler sold 22,200 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chairman owned 100,647 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,172,105.22. This trade represents a 18.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

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.