Robert J. Heideman Sells 1,026 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Stock

A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $67,356.90. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $583,562.85. This represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

NYSE:AOS opened at $65.30 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $69.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.18. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $64.55 and a twelve month high of $92.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.99, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.17.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.05). A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 13.98%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on AOS. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. DA Davidson downgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Saturday, February 1st. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.86.

Institutional Trading of A. O. Smith

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,726,000. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new position in A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at about $730,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 52,593 shares in the last quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 89.3% during the third quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 36,206 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,252,000 after acquiring an additional 17,079 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $206,848,000 after acquiring an additional 87,458 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

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.