Advisory Services Network LLC Sells 3,392 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Advisory Services Network LLC lessened its position in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 12.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 24,760 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,392 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $1,689,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AOS. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter worth about $60,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in 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 during the last quarter. Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter worth approximately $123,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter valued at $201,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on AOS shares. Oppenheimer reduced 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. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.86.

A. O. Smith Trading Up 2.5 %

AOS stock opened at $64.46 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $9.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $65.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $71.39. A. O. Smith Co. has a one year low of $58.83 and a one 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is currently 37.47%.

Insider Activity at A. O. Smith

In other news, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 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 transaction of $27,507.35. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $180,471.85. This trade represents a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the business’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 owns 8,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $583,562.85. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.