Sei Investments Co. Boosts Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,393,519 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 66,933 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $113,962,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AOS. Algebris UK Ltd raised its position in A. O. Smith by 2.3% during the first quarter. Algebris UK Ltd now owns 6,109 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $506,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 4,618 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $413,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. American International Group Inc. lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 33,231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,740,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Kessler Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in A. O. Smith by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Kessler Investment Group LLC now owns 5,087 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $416,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Scotia Capital Inc. increased its position in A. O. Smith by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 7,726 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $637,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total value of $1,191,105.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $194,319. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 1.7 %

NYSE AOS opened at $82.89 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $82.37 and a 200-day moving average of $83.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.07. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12 month low of $64.14 and a 12 month high of $92.44. The company has a market cap of $12.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.15.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by ($0.01). A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 31.04% and a net margin of 14.67%. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.01 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AOS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on A. O. Smith from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $97.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.67.

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.