A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Shares Sold by Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC

Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC trimmed its position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 38.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,186 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 5,063 shares during the period. A. O. Smith accounts for about 0.6% of Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $675,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 94.4% in the third quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 548,939 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,350,000 after acquiring an additional 266,558 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 460.9% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 264,514 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $17,492,000 after acquiring an additional 217,356 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 30.3% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 769,447 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $50,884,000 after acquiring an additional 178,707 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 63.8% in the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 454,446 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,053,000 after acquiring an additional 176,987 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 4.6% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,038,837 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $200,958,000 after acquiring an additional 133,339 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other A. O. Smith news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total value of $836,990.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 9,455 shares in the company, valued at $800,176.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other A. O. Smith news, Director Idelle K. Wolf sold 814 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $65,120.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 46,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,691,200. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total transaction of $836,990.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 9,455 shares in the company, valued at $800,176.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 95,631 shares of company stock worth $8,042,535. 2.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

NYSE:AOS traded down $0.92 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $87.00. 1,267,334 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 964,911. A. O. Smith Co. has a one year low of $63.88 and a one year high of $89.96. The company has a market capitalization of $12.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $85.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $79.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $988.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $985.89 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.45% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.86 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.1 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com cut A. O. Smith from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $88.50.

A. O. Smith Company 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.