Boston Trust Walden Corp Has $53.02 Million Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 777,254 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 21,503 shares during the quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $53,016,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AOS. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in A. O. Smith in the third quarter valued at about $1,726,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,372,000. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $730,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,586,905 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $321,348,000 after acquiring an additional 52,593 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WealthPlan Investment Management LLC increased its stake in A. O. Smith by 89.3% in the third quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 36,206 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,252,000 after acquiring an additional 17,079 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE AOS opened at $67.27 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $77.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.96. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1 year low of $65.53 and a 1 year high of $92.44. The firm has a market cap of $9.75 billion, a PE ratio of 18.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.17.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.05). A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 28.87%. On average, research analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AOS shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. DA Davidson downgraded A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Saturday, January 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.86.

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.