Unique Wealth Strategies LLC Takes Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 9,058 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $747,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 628.0% during the third quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 597 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 36.1% during the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 712 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 393.1% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 858 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 684 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its position 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 worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its position in A. O. Smith by 25.5% in 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 period. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on AOS. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of 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 upped their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, A. O. Smith currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.67.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:AOS traded up $0.39 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $83.21. The company had a trading volume of 1,316,242 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,049,093. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.54, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.25. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $85.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.85. A. O. Smith Co. has a one year low of $63.88 and a one year high of $89.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $978.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $995.91 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 30.94% and a net margin of 14.94%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.94 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Idelle K. Wolf sold 814 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now directly owns 46,140 shares in the company, valued at $3,691,200. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Idelle K. Wolf sold 814 shares of A. O. Smith 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 sale, the director now directly owns 46,140 shares in the company, valued at $3,691,200. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 24,669 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.02, for a total value of $2,048,020.38. Following the transaction, the director now owns 56,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,728,072.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 95,631 shares of company stock valued at $8,042,535 over the last ninety days. 2.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.