United Asset Strategies Inc. Purchases 730 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

United Asset Strategies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 7.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,004 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 730 shares during the quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $825,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Artemis Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in A. O. Smith during the third quarter worth about $37,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 628.0% during the 3rd quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 597 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC increased its holdings in A. O. Smith by 36.1% during the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 712 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in A. O. Smith by 393.1% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 858 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 684 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith in the second quarter valued at $66,000. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AOS. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com lowered shares of A. O. Smith from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.67.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

A. O. Smith stock opened at $85.38 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $84.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.95. A. O. Smith Co. has a twelve month low of $63.88 and a twelve month high of $89.96. The company has a market capitalization of $12.57 billion, a PE ratio of 23.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 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 results on Tuesday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.01. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 14.45%. The business had revenue of $988.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $985.89 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.86 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.1 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at A. O. Smith

In other A. O. Smith news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total value of $836,990.70. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 9,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $800,176.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Idelle K. Wolf sold 814 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $65,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 46,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,691,200. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total value of $836,990.70. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 9,455 shares in the company, valued at $800,176.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 95,631 shares of company stock worth $8,042,535. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.