Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Sells 522 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. cut its position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 14,521 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 522 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $1,187,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Isthmus Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 157.2% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 283 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 665.0% in the first quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 612 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 532 shares during the period. Twin Tree Management LP raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 1,566 shares during the period. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 1st quarter valued at $109,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

In other news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,399 shares in the company, valued at approximately $194,319. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

A. O. Smith stock opened at $79.97 on Monday. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52 week low of $64.14 and a 52 week high of $92.44. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $82.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $84.01. 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 stock has a market cap of $11.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.72, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.15.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.01 earnings per share. A. O. Smith’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is currently 33.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group boosted 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. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $97.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com upgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on 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. One 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.