Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 20.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,337 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,220 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $1,091,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 71.2% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,173,179 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $96,716,000 after buying an additional 487,742 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 33.8% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,257,799 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $103,693,000 after purchasing an additional 317,389 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $22,288,000. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 37.2% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 623,357 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $51,390,000 after purchasing an additional 168,911 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 43.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 461,852 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,075,000 after purchasing an additional 140,685 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other A. O. Smith news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total value of $1,191,105.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $194,319. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of AOS opened at $83.99 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $82.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.76, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.15. A. O. Smith Co. has a one year low of $64.14 and a one year high of $92.44.

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

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st were issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AOS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $97.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. UBS Group boosted their price objective 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, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.67.

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.