Private Advisor Group LLC Acquires 3,712 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 124.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,694 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,712 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $457,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AOS. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter worth $55,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter worth $60,000. Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 812 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter worth $82,000. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of A. O. Smith stock opened at $66.36 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.55. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.75. A. O. Smith Co. has a twelve month low of $64.55 and a twelve month high of $92.44. The firm has a market cap of $9.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.17.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.47%.

Insider Activity

In other A. O. Smith news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $67,356.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $583,562.85. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of A. O. Smith 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus decreased 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 research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.86.

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.