BNP Paribas Financial Markets Buys 128,729 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 65.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 325,608 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 128,729 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $22,210,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter valued at $60,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter worth about $66,000. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan bought a new position in A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter valued at about $84,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 40.0% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,299 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $89,000 after buying an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new stake in A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter worth about $123,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of AOS stock opened at $68.26 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $9.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.80, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.28. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12 month low of $58.83 and a 12 month high of $92.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $65.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.85.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.05. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 28.87%. The business had revenue of $963.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $950.56 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.00 earnings per share. A. O. Smith’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AOS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. StockNews.com upgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.17.

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.