Robert J. Heideman Sells 1,026 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Stock

A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $67,356.90. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $583,562.85. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE AOS traded up $0.24 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $65.97. 749,093 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,469,688. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12 month low of $64.94 and a 12 month high of $92.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.56 billion, a PE ratio of 18.17, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a 50 day moving average of $69.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $76.39.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.77 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.06%. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is currently 37.47%.

Institutional Trading of A. O. Smith

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,726,000. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter worth about $730,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,586,905 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $321,348,000 after acquiring an additional 52,593 shares during the period. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 89.3% in the 3rd quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 36,206 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,252,000 after acquiring an additional 17,079 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,302,659 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $206,848,000 after acquiring an additional 87,458 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AOS shares. StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup decreased their target price 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. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, DA Davidson downgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.86.

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.