SRN Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

SRN Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,517 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 157 shares during the quarter. SRN Advisors LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $717,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,143,241 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $77,980,000 after purchasing an additional 74,418 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter worth about $1,631,000. ING Groep NV raised its position in A. O. Smith by 191.2% in the fourth quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 46,713 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,186,000 after acquiring an additional 30,670 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 124.5% in the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,694 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $457,000 after acquiring an additional 3,712 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 4,691 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $320,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AOS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com upgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut 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 report 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $80.86.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE AOS opened at $66.18 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a market cap of $9.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.17. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52 week low of $64.55 and a 52 week high of $92.44. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.06.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. Research analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other A. O. Smith news, 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 transaction, the vice president now 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 available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,471.85. This trade represents a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.