Corient Private Wealth LLC Buys 5,972 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 14.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,416 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 5,972 shares during the quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $3,166,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in A. O. Smith during the third quarter worth approximately $43,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in A. O. Smith during the third quarter worth approximately $55,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the third quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $123,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of AOS opened at $66.47 on Friday. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52 week low of $64.55 and a 52 week high of $92.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.31, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $67.72 and a 200-day moving average of $73.36.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 28.87%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was 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 currently 37.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on AOS shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group cut their price target on 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. Citigroup cut their price target on 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. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their target price on A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $80.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other A. O. Smith news, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $27,507.35. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,471.85. This trade represents a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $67,356.90. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 8,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $583,562.85. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

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.