Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $22.47 Million Stock Holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 23.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 329,436 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 61,602 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.23% of A. O. Smith worth $22,471,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AOS. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 200,425 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $16,391,000 after buying an additional 19,621 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in A. O. Smith by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,194,731 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $97,708,000 after acquiring an additional 19,890 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 27.0% during the 2nd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 32,422 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,651,000 after acquiring an additional 6,900 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 20.0% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 13,337 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,091,000 after purchasing an additional 2,220 shares during the period. Finally, MQS Management LLC bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 2nd quarter worth $399,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 0.7 %

A. O. Smith stock opened at $71.87 on Friday. A. O. Smith Co. has a twelve month low of $67.17 and a twelve month high of $92.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a 50 day moving average of $71.23 and a 200-day moving average of $78.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.42 billion, a PE ratio of 18.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.18.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82. The firm had revenue of $957.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $960.36 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 14.41%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on AOS shares. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $88.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.14.

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.