AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC Makes New $386,000 Investment in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 5,655 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $386,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AOS. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 63.2% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 35,234 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,165,000 after purchasing an additional 13,648 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 15,998 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,437,000 after buying an additional 1,477 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 9,765 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $877,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 180.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 125,384 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,263,000 after acquiring an additional 80,632 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith during the third quarter valued at approximately $850,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 2.0 %

A. O. Smith stock opened at $65.59 on Friday. A. O. Smith Co. has a fifty-two week low of $64.55 and a fifty-two week high of $92.45. The company has a market cap of $9.44 billion, a PE ratio of 18.07, 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $67.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $72.99.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling at A. O. Smith

In other news, 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 value of $67,356.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $583,562.85. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 2,749 shares in the company, 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. 0.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on AOS. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group dropped their target price 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. Citigroup reduced their target price on 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. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.86.

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.