Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Sells 5,087 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp trimmed its stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 20.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,310 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 5,087 shares during the quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $1,661,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AOS. Isthmus Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 157.2% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC raised its position in A. O. Smith by 665.0% during the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 612 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 532 shares in the last quarter. Twin Tree Management LP raised its position in A. O. Smith by 188.9% during the 1st quarter. Twin Tree Management LP now owns 737 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 1,566 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 1st quarter valued at $109,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other A. O. Smith news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $194,319. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of AOS stock opened at $82.90 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $82.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.99. The firm has a market cap of $12.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.54, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.15. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1 year low of $64.14 and a 1 year high of $92.44. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by ($0.01). A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.67% and a return on equity of 31.04%. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.01 EPS. A. O. Smith’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AOS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Stifel Nicolaus raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $97.00 to $98.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. UBS Group upped their price target on A. O. Smith from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.67.

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.