Capital Fund Management S.A. Acquires 35,919 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Capital Fund Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 56.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 99,224 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 35,919 shares during the period. Capital Fund Management S.A.’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $6,768,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AOS. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $60,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter worth about $66,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 40.0% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,299 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter valued at about $123,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter valued at about $201,000. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AOS shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup decreased their price target on 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. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.33.

A. O. Smith Trading Up 2.5 %

A. O. Smith stock opened at $64.46 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $71.39. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52-week low of $58.83 and a 52-week high of $92.45. 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 $9.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.26.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its 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%. Analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling at A. O. Smith

In other A. O. Smith news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 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 $67,356.90. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $27,507.35. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.