American Century Companies Inc. Grows Stock Position in A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) by 54.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,208,831 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,128,543 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $235,560,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,412,842 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,058,047,000 after acquiring an additional 182,876 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its position in A. O. Smith by 3.4% during the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 4,850,158 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $356,050,000 after purchasing an additional 157,856 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 3.3% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,500,230 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $163,940,000 after purchasing an additional 79,696 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in A. O. Smith during the second quarter worth approximately $91,939,000. Finally, Sarasin & Partners LLP boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 17.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 1,400,613 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $101,895,000 after purchasing an additional 211,540 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at A. O. Smith

In other news, SVP Darrell W. Schuh sold 356 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.89, for a total transaction of $28,440.84. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 3,295 shares in the company, valued at $263,237.55. This trade represents a 9.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:AOS opened at $77.92 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a 50 day moving average of $73.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.77. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 52-week low of $58.83 and a 52-week high of $81.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $912.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $928.97 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 29.51%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.85 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th were given a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on AOS shares. Robert W. Baird set a $77.00 price objective on A. O. Smith in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wall Street Zen cut A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $78.00 price objective (up from $72.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $69.00 price objective on A. O. Smith and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $77.00.

A. O. Smith Profile

A. O. Smith Corporation, based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a leading manufacturer of water heating and water treatment products for residential and commercial applications. Since its founding in 1874, the company has built a reputation for producing reliable, energy-efficient water heaters, boilers and pressure vessels. Its product portfolio encompasses gas, electric, condensing and tankless water heaters, as well as specialty boilers designed to meet a variety of building and industrial needs.

The company operates through two primary segments: North America and Asia.