A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Shares Sold by WealthPlan Investment Management LLC

WealthPlan Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 18.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 29,395 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 6,811 shares during the period. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $2,005,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Waldron Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at $55,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter worth $60,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AOS. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group cut their target price on A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Saturday, February 1st. DA Davidson lowered A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.86.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $27,507.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,471.85. This represents a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AOS opened at $66.22 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $69.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.99. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52 week low of $64.55 and a 52 week high of $92.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.55. The firm has a market cap of $9.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.17.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

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

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.