A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Shares Sold by Asset Management One Co. Ltd.

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. decreased its position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,755 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,898 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $3,131,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Waldron Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith in the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith in the third quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Huntington National Bank raised its position in A. O. Smith by 19.8% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 812 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at A. O. Smith

In other A. O. Smith news, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $27,507.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,749 shares in the company, valued at $180,471.85. This represents a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $67,356.90. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 8,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $583,562.85. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AOS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer cut their target price on 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. StockNews.com raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup cut their price objective on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.86.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

NYSE:AOS opened at $67.43 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.78 billion, a PE ratio of 18.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.17. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $68.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.96. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12 month low of $64.55 and a 12 month high of $92.44.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.05). A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 28.87%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.47%.

A. O. Smith 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.