Headlands Technologies LLC Invests $201,000 in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,945 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 180.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 125,384 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,263,000 after buying an additional 80,632 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 10.8% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 5,149 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $463,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 72.8% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 14,003 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,258,000 after acquiring an additional 5,900 shares during the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in A. O. Smith by 30.7% during the 3rd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,679 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $330,000 after acquiring an additional 864 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 22,255 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,999,000 after purchasing an additional 1,431 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other A. O. Smith news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $67,356.90. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $583,562.85. The trade was 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. 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 transaction of $27,507.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $180,471.85. This represents a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 2.7 %

Shares of A. O. Smith stock opened at $61.92 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.55. The company has a market capitalization of $8.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.06, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.26. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1 year low of $61.89 and a 1 year high of $92.45. The company’s fifty day moving average is $66.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.40.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.05). A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 28.87%. Analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on AOS. UBS Group dropped their target price on A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Saturday, March 22nd. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.86.

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.