ProShare Advisors LLC Trims Stock Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

ProShare Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 4.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,030,180 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 104,616 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC owned 1.39% of A. O. Smith worth $166,028,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 11.3% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 225,930 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $20,212,000 after acquiring an additional 22,859 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its holdings in A. O. Smith by 37.2% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 623,357 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $51,390,000 after purchasing an additional 168,911 shares during the period. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith in the second quarter worth about $228,000. TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 39.7% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 79,075 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,519,000 after buying an additional 22,483 shares during the period. Finally, Cim LLC bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,165,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

In related news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total value of $1,191,105.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $194,319. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 1.7 %

AOS stock opened at $82.89 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $12.09 billion, a PE ratio of 21.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.15. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $82.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.70. A. O. Smith Co. has a fifty-two week low of $64.14 and a fifty-two week high of $92.44.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1 billion. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.67% and a return on equity of 31.04%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.01 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on AOS. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $97.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.67.

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.