A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Stake Boosted by Independent Advisor Alliance

Independent Advisor Alliance grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 11.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 9,353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 962 shares during the quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $638,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in A. O. Smith by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 286,735 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $25,757,000 after purchasing an additional 13,010 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in A. O. Smith by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 98,594 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,857,000 after purchasing an additional 684 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank grew its position in A. O. Smith by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 812 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its position in A. O. Smith by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 6,403 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $575,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in A. O. Smith by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,002 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $360,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AOS opened at $66.91 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $67.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.43, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52-week low of $64.55 and a 52-week high of $92.44.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were given a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup decreased their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Five 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.86.

Insider Activity at A. O. Smith

In other news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 $583,562.85. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $27,507.35. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $180,471.85. This trade represents a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.