Seizert Capital Partners LLC Trims Holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Seizert Capital Partners LLC lowered its holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 97,704 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 6,030 shares during the period. Seizert Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $6,664,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Private Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter worth $268,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith in the third quarter worth about $256,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 24,552 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,206,000 after acquiring an additional 2,435 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,638 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $956,000 after acquiring an additional 671 shares during the period. Finally, Northstar Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Northstar Asset Management Inc. now owns 118,568 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,651,000 after acquiring an additional 1,264 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of AOS opened at $65.61 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.65. The firm has a market cap of $9.45 billion, a PE ratio of 18.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. 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 1-year low of $64.55 and a 1-year high of $92.44.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted 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 net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 28.87%. On average, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 37.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer dropped 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 research note on Friday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.86.

Insider Activity at A. O. Smith

In related news, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $27,507.35. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,471.85. The trade was 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 the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the company’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 sale, the vice president now owns 8,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $583,562.85. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.