A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Shares Purchased by Private Advisor Group LLC

Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 124.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,694 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,712 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $457,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith during the third quarter worth about $43,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith during the third quarter worth about $55,000. Huntington National Bank increased its stake in shares of 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. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the third quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on AOS shares. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.86.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 0.2 %

A. O. Smith stock opened at $66.36 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.55 billion, a PE ratio of 18.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.17. 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 quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 37.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.