Proficio Capital Partners LLC Invests $2.58 Million in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased 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 firm purchased 37,810 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,579,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AOS. M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 8,147 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $555,000 after purchasing an additional 1,362 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 27,825 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,898,000 after buying an additional 1,834 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,231,084 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $83,972,000 after buying an additional 12,305 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter valued at $486,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in A. O. Smith by 187.7% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 5,464 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $373,000 after buying an additional 3,565 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of AOS opened at $67.62 on Wednesday. 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 12 month low of $64.55 and a 12 month high of $92.45. The company’s fifty day moving average is $67.80 and its 200-day moving average is $73.63. The firm has a market cap of $9.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.05). A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 28.87%. Equities analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $27,507.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $180,471.85. The trade was a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were 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 directly owns 8,889 shares in the company, valued at $583,562.85. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on AOS shares. Citigroup decreased their price objective on 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. StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer cut 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. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Friday, March 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.