Independent Advisor Alliance Purchases 446 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Independent Advisor Alliance grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,391 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 446 shares during the quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $754,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AOS. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 398.4% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,417 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $216,000 after buying an additional 1,932 shares during the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 19.8% during the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,969 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 657 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 119.8% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 21,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,914,000 after purchasing an additional 11,663 shares during the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the first quarter valued at approximately $702,000. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,495,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Trading Up 0.3 %

AOS opened at $74.09 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $79.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.63. 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 $10.74 billion, a PE ratio of 19.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.17. A. O. Smith Co. has a twelve month low of $70.73 and a twelve month high of $92.44.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.82. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.41% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The company had revenue of $957.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $960.36 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.90 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.78 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. This is a positive change 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 (DPR) is presently 35.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson cut shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $75.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.71.

A. O. Smith 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.