A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Shares Bought by V Square Quantitative Management LLC

V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 13.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,089 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 482 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $279,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 19.8% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 812 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 3,992 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $359,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 7,967 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $716,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 5,873 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 8,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $583,562.85. This represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,471.85. The trade was a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on AOS. StockNews.com raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group decreased their price target 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. DA Davidson lowered A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup decreased their price target on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, A. O. Smith has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.86.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

AOS opened at $66.22 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $69.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.86. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12-month low of $64.55 and a 12-month high of $92.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a market cap of $9.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.24, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.17.

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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.77 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.47%.

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.