ProShare Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 10.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,444,338 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 236,880 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC owned about 1.69% of A. O. Smith worth $166,728,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Greenleaf Trust increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 34,838 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,376,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the period. Advisory Alpha LLC raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 3,454 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $236,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the period. United Asset Strategies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 9,198 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $627,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 27,307 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,863,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of AOS traded up $1.09 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $70.51. 1,536,065 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,164,240. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1 year low of $58.83 and a 1 year high of $92.45. The firm's fifty day moving average is $65.68 and its 200-day moving average is $68.56. 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 has a market capitalization of $10.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.28.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $950.56 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.00 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. 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 was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AOS shares. StockNews.com upgraded A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Saturday, May 10th. 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 note on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group dropped their target price on A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. 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 investment 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 presently has an average 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.