A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) SVP Sells $27,507.35 in Stock

A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $27,507.35. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $180,471.85. This 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 accessible through this link.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 1.2 %

AOS stock opened at $66.04 on Friday. A. O. Smith Co. has a twelve month low of $64.55 and a twelve month high of $92.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a market cap of $9.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.19, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.17. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $69.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $76.11.

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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.77 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AOS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. 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. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” 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. Oppenheimer cut their price target 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.86.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,726,000. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new position in A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $730,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,586,905 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $321,348,000 after purchasing an additional 52,593 shares in the last quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 89.3% in the 3rd quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 36,206 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,252,000 after purchasing an additional 17,079 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,302,659 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $206,848,000 after purchasing an additional 87,458 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.