American Trust Sells 1,460 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

American Trust lessened its holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 17.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,460 shares during the quarter. American Trust’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $556,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Isthmus Partners LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Quarry LP raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 214.9% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 157.2% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 665.0% during the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 612 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 532 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Twin Tree Management LP raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 188.9% during the 1st quarter. Twin Tree Management LP now owns 737 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 1,566 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at A. O. Smith

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

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of AOS stock opened at $88.03 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $12.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.15. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52 week low of $64.86 and a 52 week high of $92.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $82.38 and a 200-day moving average of $84.07.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $1 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.01 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st were given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is currently 33.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on AOS. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $97.00 to $98.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.67.

A. O. Smith 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.