XTX Topco Ltd Buys Shares of 5,836 A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 5,836 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $524,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 7.2% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,007 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $164,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 19.8% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 812 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 12.5% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,227 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $110,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC grew its position in A. O. Smith by 5.0% during the third quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 2,989 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $269,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in A. O. Smith by 5.1% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $291,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of AOS opened at $72.48 on Friday. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12-month low of $70.73 and a 12-month high of $92.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a market capitalization of $10.51 billion, a PE ratio of 19.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.16. The business’s 50 day moving average is $76.19 and its 200 day moving average is $80.60.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting 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 firm had revenue of $957.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $960.36 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.90 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This is an increase from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is 35.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.