Jones Financial Companies Lllp Acquires 3,565 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 187.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,464 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 3,565 shares during the quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $373,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AOS. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $55,000. Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 19.8% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 812 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at about $82,000. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the business’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 directly owns 2,749 shares in the company, valued at $180,471.85. The trade was a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 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 value of $67,356.90. Following the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AOS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. 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 note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective 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. Five 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.86.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 3.6 %

NYSE:AOS opened at $67.13 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $9.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.55. A. O. Smith Co. has a one year low of $64.55 and a one year high of $92.44.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.05). A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 13.98%. Equities analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.47%.

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.