Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Purchases 19,890 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,194,731 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,890 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.82% of A. O. Smith worth $97,708,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AOS. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 9,478 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $781,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 27,878 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,298,000 after purchasing an additional 768 shares during the period. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter worth $205,000. TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in 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 valued at $6,519,000 after purchasing an additional 22,483 shares during the period. Finally, J. W. Coons Advisors LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter worth $218,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of the business’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 in the company, valued at $194,319. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AOS has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group increased their price target on A. O. Smith from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $97.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of 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. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.67.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

A. O. Smith stock opened at $85.72 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.21, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.15. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52-week low of $64.14 and a 52-week high of $92.44. 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’s 50 day moving average price is $82.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.95.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.06 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.01 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.16%.

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.