Stanley Laman Group Ltd. Reduces Stock Holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Stanley Laman Group Ltd. trimmed its holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,386 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 628 shares during the period. Stanley Laman Group Ltd.’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $3,989,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in A. O. Smith by 628.0% during the 3rd quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 597 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 515 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC increased its position in A. O. Smith by 36.1% during the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 712 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 393.1% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 858 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 684 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 39.2% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,203 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 25.5% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 961 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

In related news, Director Idelle K. Wolf sold 814 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,691,200. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total transaction of $836,990.70. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 9,455 shares in the company, valued at $800,176.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Idelle K. Wolf sold 814 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $65,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 46,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,691,200. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 95,631 shares of company stock valued at $8,042,535 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AOS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of A. O. Smith from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted 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. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Citigroup upped their target price on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $88.50.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 4.8 %

Shares of A. O. Smith stock traded down $4.15 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $82.85. The stock had a trading volume of 2,380,900 shares, compared to its average volume of 982,610. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $85.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.25. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1 year low of $63.88 and a 1 year high of $89.96. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $978.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $995.91 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.45% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.94 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 34.59%.

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.