Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Acquires 2,800 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 377,465 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 2,800 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned 0.26% of A. O. Smith worth $30,869,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,991,003 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $164,138,000 after buying an additional 75,898 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC raised its position in A. O. Smith by 5.7% in the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,973,942 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $176,589,000 after purchasing an additional 106,329 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in A. O. Smith by 5.0% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,393,519 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $113,962,000 after purchasing an additional 66,933 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in A. O. Smith by 1.7% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,194,731 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $97,708,000 after purchasing an additional 19,890 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its position in A. O. Smith by 71.2% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,173,179 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $96,716,000 after purchasing an additional 487,742 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total transaction of $1,191,105.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $194,319. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

A. O. Smith Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of AOS stock opened at $82.89 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $12.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.47, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $82.27 and a 200-day moving average of $83.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1-year low of $64.14 and a 1-year high of $92.44.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.07 by ($0.01). A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 31.04% and a net margin of 14.67%. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.01 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

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

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.