B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. Sells 1,124 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 28.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,845 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,124 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $233,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 214.9% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in A. O. Smith by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,007 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $164,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the period. Copperwynd Financial LLC increased its holdings in A. O. Smith by 9.5% in the 2nd quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC now owns 2,959 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $252,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the period. Select Equity Group L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 11.6% during the 2nd quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 3,852,467 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $315,055,000 after acquiring an additional 400,304 shares during the period. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 195.8% during the 2nd quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 11,831 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $968,000 after acquiring an additional 7,831 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AOS. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. StockNews.com upgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $97.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.67.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:AOS opened at $87.68 on Thursday. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52-week low of $65.08 and a 52-week high of $92.44. The company has a market capitalization of $12.86 billion, a PE ratio of 22.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.70. The company has a fifty day moving average of $82.69 and a 200-day moving average of $84.05.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by ($0.01). A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 31.04% and a net margin of 14.67%. The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.01 EPS. A. O. Smith’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This is a positive change from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other A. O. Smith news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total value of $1,191,105.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,399 shares in the company, valued at approximately $194,319. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 2.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

A. O. Smith 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.