Guggenheim Capital LLC Sells 32,094 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Guggenheim Capital LLC reduced its stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 27.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 83,275 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 32,094 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $5,680,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter worth about $60,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan bought a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter worth approximately $84,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 40.0% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,299 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $123,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE AOS opened at $63.09 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $9.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.38, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.26. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.80. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1 year low of $58.83 and a 1 year high of $92.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

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

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.47%.

Insider Activity at A. O. Smith

In other news, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $27,507.35. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 8,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $583,562.85. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AOS has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $84.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on 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. UBS Group decreased their price objective on 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four equities 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.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.50.

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.