Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH Grows Stock Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH raised its holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 52.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,496 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,209 shares during the quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $255,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,117,943 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $962,985,000 after purchasing an additional 148,432 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 26.8% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,704,295 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $320,880,000 after purchasing an additional 995,043 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,698,517 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $251,751,000 after purchasing an additional 111,612 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in A. O. Smith by 19.0% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,618,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $178,587,000 after acquiring an additional 417,595 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in A. O. Smith by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,444,338 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $166,728,000 after acquiring an additional 236,880 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of AOS opened at $70.51 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12 month low of $58.83 and a 12 month high of $92.45. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $65.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.51. The firm has a market cap of $10.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.42, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.28.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.05. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 13.98%. The company had revenue of $963.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $950.56 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.00 earnings per share. A. O. Smith’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is currently 37.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on AOS. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Saturday, May 10th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.17.

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.