2,455 Shares in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Purchased by Bison Wealth LLC

Bison Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,455 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Artemis Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 628.0% in the 3rd quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 597 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 515 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 36.1% in the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 712 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 393.1% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 858 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 684 shares during the period. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 24,669 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.02, for a total transaction of $2,048,020.38. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 56,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,728,072.02. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 24,669 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.02, for a total transaction of $2,048,020.38. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 56,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,728,072.02. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Idelle K. Wolf sold 814 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $65,120.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 46,140 shares in the company, valued at $3,691,200. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 95,631 shares of company stock worth $8,042,535 in the last ninety days. 2.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

A. O. Smith stock opened at $86.46 on Thursday. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52-week low of $63.88 and a 52-week high of $89.96. The company’s 50 day moving average is $84.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $79.00. The firm has a market cap of $12.73 billion, a PE ratio of 23.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.01. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.45% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The business had revenue of $988.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $985.89 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.86 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of A. O. Smith from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $88.50.

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.