HighTower Advisors LLC Cuts Holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,221 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 618 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $834,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AOS. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in A. O. Smith by 63.2% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 35,234 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,165,000 after buying an additional 13,648 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 15,998 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,437,000 after acquiring an additional 1,477 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 8,391 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $754,000 after acquiring an additional 446 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 2.0% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 9,765 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $877,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:AOS opened at $66.98 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.08. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12-month low of $64.55 and a 12-month high of $92.45. The firm has a market cap of $9.64 billion, a PE ratio of 18.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities research analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 37.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on AOS shares. 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. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group lowered their target price on A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Saturday, March 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $80.86.

Insider Activity

In other A. O. Smith news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the firm’s 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $27,507.35. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $180,471.85. This represents a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.