Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Sells 1,306 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC reduced its holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 108,174 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,306 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $8,847,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AOS. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in A. O. Smith by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,991,003 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $164,138,000 after purchasing an additional 75,898 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 5.7% in the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,973,942 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $176,589,000 after buying an additional 106,329 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 5.5% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,326,586 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $118,677,000 after acquiring an additional 68,787 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter worth $108,176,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,212,966 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $99,996,000 after purchasing an additional 15,698 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $194,319. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 3.1 %

AOS stock opened at $77.84 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $11.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.15. A. O. Smith Co. has a twelve month low of $64.14 and a twelve month high of $92.44. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $82.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $84.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its 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). The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1 billion. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 31.04% and a net margin of 14.67%. A. O. Smith’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.01 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is currently 33.16%.

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.