Kessler Investment Group LLC Sells 339 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Kessler Investment Group LLC reduced its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,713 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 339 shares during the quarter. Kessler Investment Group LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $321,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AOS. Huntington National Bank grew its stake 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. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 3,992 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $359,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 7,967 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $716,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 5,873 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other A. O. Smith news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $67,356.90. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $583,562.85. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $27,507.35. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $180,471.85. This trade represents a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

NYSE AOS opened at $66.22 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.24, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.17. A. O. Smith Co. has a twelve month low of $64.55 and a twelve month high of $92.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $69.10 and a 200 day moving average of $75.99.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.05). A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 13.98%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 37.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group dropped their price target on A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. DA Davidson downgraded A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Saturday, February 1st. Finally, StockNews.com raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.86.

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.