Fisher Asset Management LLC Has $206.85 Million Stock Holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,302,659 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 87,458 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $206,848,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the second quarter worth $25,000. Isthmus Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 214.9% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith during the third quarter worth about $37,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group raised A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $75.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson downgraded A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six research 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.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.71.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

AOS stock opened at $75.43 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $79.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.72. A. O. Smith Co. has a fifty-two week low of $70.73 and a fifty-two week high of $92.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.94 billion, a PE ratio of 19.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.17.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $960.36 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.90 EPS. Analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.78 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This is a boost from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is presently 35.79%.

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.