Founders Financial Alliance LLC Acquires 935 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Founders Financial Alliance LLC raised its holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 38.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,391 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 935 shares during the quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $231,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith in the third quarter valued at $43,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at about $55,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter valued at about $60,000. Huntington National Bank raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 19.8% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 812 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the third quarter worth approximately $82,000. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at A. O. Smith

In related news, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the firm’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 $27,507.35. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $180,471.85. This trade represents a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $67,356.90. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $583,562.85. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on AOS. Stifel Nicolaus decreased 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 report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.86.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of AOS stock opened at $67.13 on Wednesday. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12 month low of $64.55 and a 12 month high of $92.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.66 billion, a PE ratio of 18.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.18. 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 (NYSE:AOS) last posted its 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%. Analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.47%.

A. O. Smith Company 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.