JPMorgan Chase & Co. Sells 29,166 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut its holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 3.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 734,993 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 29,166 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 0.51% of A. O. Smith worth $66,024,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AOS. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,726,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 11.4% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 18,370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,650,000 after purchasing an additional 1,882 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC lifted its position in A. O. Smith by 60.0% in the third quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 4,569 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 1,713 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its holdings in A. O. Smith by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 59,376 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,334,000 after buying an additional 436 shares during the period. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in A. O. Smith by 8.7% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,788 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $339,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AOS. StockNews.com cut A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on A. O. Smith from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.17.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of A. O. Smith stock opened at $68.60 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $72.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.67. The firm has a market cap of $9.95 billion, a PE ratio of 18.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.16. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52-week low of $67.17 and a 52-week high of $92.44.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.82. The firm had revenue of $957.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $960.36 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 14.41%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. This is a boost from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.79%.

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.