Raymond James Financial Inc. Takes Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 102,842 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,015,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $123,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at A. O. Smith

In related news, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 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 value of $27,507.35. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $180,471.85. The trade was a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $583,562.85. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of AOS stock opened at $66.47 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $67.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.31. The company has a market cap of $9.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.31, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12 month low of $64.55 and a 12 month high of $92.45.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 13.98%. Sell-side analysts predict 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 yield of 2.05%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Saturday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of 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 for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $80.86.

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.