Mackenzie Financial Corp Purchases 1,621 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 4.3% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 39,357 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,621 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $3,219,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AOS. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 33.8% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,257,799 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $103,693,000 after acquiring an additional 317,389 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $22,288,000. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 37.2% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 623,357 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $51,390,000 after buying an additional 168,911 shares during the period. Distillate Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 100,431.5% in the 2nd quarter. Distillate Capital Partners LLC now owns 162,861 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,319,000 after buying an additional 162,699 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 43.8% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 461,852 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,075,000 after buying an additional 140,685 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of AOS opened at $88.94 on Wednesday. A. O. Smith Co. has a fifty-two week low of $64.86 and a fifty-two week high of $92.44. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $82.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $84.04. The stock has a market cap of $13.04 billion, a PE ratio of 23.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.70.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.07 by ($0.01). A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 31.04% and a net margin of 14.67%. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.01 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st were paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 33.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on AOS shares. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $97.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Finally, StockNews.com cut A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.67.

Insider Activity at A. O. Smith

In other A. O. Smith news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total value of $1,191,105.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $194,319. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.