A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Shares Sold by Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS cut its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 9.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 31,432 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,290 shares during the period. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $2,144,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,726,000. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the third quarter valued at approximately $730,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,586,905 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $321,348,000 after purchasing an additional 52,593 shares in the last quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 89.3% in the third quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 36,206 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,252,000 after purchasing an additional 17,079 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.9% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,302,659 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $206,848,000 after purchasing an additional 87,458 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. DA Davidson cut shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.86.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE:AOS opened at $67.43 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.78 billion, a PE ratio of 18.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. A. O. Smith Co. has a twelve month low of $64.55 and a twelve month high of $92.44. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.57.

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

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.47%.

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

In related news, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,749 shares in the company, valued at $180,471.85. This represents a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 8,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $583,562.85. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

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.