Mather Group LLC. Sells 552 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Mather Group LLC. trimmed its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 20.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 552 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC.’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $149,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Waldron Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at about $55,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 19.8% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 812 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:AOS opened at $65.19 on Friday. A. O. Smith Co. has a one year low of $64.94 and a one year high of $92.44. The company has a 50 day moving average of $69.85 and a 200-day moving average of $76.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market cap of $9.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.17.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.05). A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 13.98%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is presently 37.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AOS. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.86.

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.