Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Increases Holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,212,966 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,698 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.82% of A. O. Smith worth $99,996,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AOS. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.2% in the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 9,759 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $645,000 after buying an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 6,450 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 10,341 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $684,000 after purchasing an additional 701 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 10.2% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 4,267 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $282,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 2.1% in the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 234,754 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,524,000 after buying an additional 4,765 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

NYSE AOS opened at $85.74 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $86.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.91. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12-month low of $63.88 and a 12-month high of $89.96. The firm has a market cap of $12.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.21, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $978.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $995.91 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 30.94% and a net margin of 14.94%. A. O. Smith’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.94 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.08 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th were paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 29th. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 33.16%.

Insider Activity at A. O. Smith

In other A. O. Smith news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total value of $836,990.70. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 9,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $800,176.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total value of $836,990.70. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 9,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $800,176.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 60,258 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.51, for a total value of $5,092,403.58. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 56,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,812,929.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 94,817 shares of company stock worth $7,977,415 in the last three months. 2.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on AOS shares. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on A. O. Smith from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.67.

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.