A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Shares Acquired by United Asset Strategies Inc.

United Asset Strategies Inc. lifted its stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 7.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 10,004 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 730 shares during the quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $825,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Artemis Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in A. O. Smith during the third quarter worth $37,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 628.0% in the 3rd quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 597 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 515 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 36.1% during the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 712 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 393.1% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 858 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 684 shares during the period. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd acquired a new position in A. O. Smith in the 2nd quarter valued at about $66,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other A. O. Smith news, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 24,669 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.02, for a total transaction of $2,048,020.38. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 56,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,728,072.02. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 24,669 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.02, for a total value of $2,048,020.38. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 56,951 shares in the company, valued at $4,728,072.02. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Idelle K. Wolf sold 814 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $65,120.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 46,140 shares in the company, valued at $3,691,200. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 95,631 shares of company stock valued at $8,042,535. Insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of AOS stock opened at $85.38 on Wednesday. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12 month low of $63.88 and a 12 month high of $89.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a market cap of $12.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.08, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $84.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.95.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $988.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $985.89 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.45% and a return on equity of 31.05%. A. O. Smith’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.86 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on AOS shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, StockNews.com cut A. O. Smith from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.67.

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.