Claro Advisors LLC Sells 1,881 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Claro Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 23.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,086 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,881 shares during the period. Claro Advisors LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $415,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of AOS. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in A. O. Smith during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 214.9% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the third quarter valued at $32,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith in the third quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith in the third quarter worth about $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 3.9 %

Shares of AOS stock opened at $71.28 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $71.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $78.51. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1-year low of $67.17 and a 1-year high of $92.44. The company has a market cap of $10.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.82. The firm had revenue of $957.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $960.36 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.41% and a return on equity of 30.09%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.90 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on AOS. StockNews.com lowered shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group upgraded A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $75.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.14.

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.