King Luther Capital Management Corp Has $3.85 Million Stock Holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

King Luther Capital Management Corp lowered its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 46,670 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,675 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $3,847,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Addison Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 36.1% during the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 712 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 39.2% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,203 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 339 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 25.5% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 961 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 52.4% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,506 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $122,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares during the period. Finally, Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 31.4% in the fourth quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,597 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $132,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE:AOS traded down $0.95 on Thursday, reaching $84.12. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 101,884 shares, compared to its average volume of 933,587. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1-year low of $63.88 and a 1-year high of $89.96. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $86.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.94. The firm has a market cap of $12.34 billion, a PE ratio of 22.04, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.65.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.01. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 30.94% and a net margin of 14.94%. The business had revenue of $978.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $995.91 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.94 EPS. A. O. Smith’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 29th. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at A. O. Smith

In related news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of A. O. Smith 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 sale, the vice president now owns 9,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $800,176.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 60,258 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.51, for a total transaction of $5,092,403.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 56,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,812,929.01. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 9,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $800,176.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 94,817 shares of company stock valued at $7,977,415 in the last 90 days. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AOS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on A. O. Smith from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded A. O. Smith from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.67.

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.