Larson Financial Group LLC Boosts Stock Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 33.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,707 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 677 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $223,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter worth about $1,258,000. Trust Point Inc. purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter worth about $4,047,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 24.3% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 246,964 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $20,360,000 after acquiring an additional 48,325 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 37,768 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,498,000 after acquiring an additional 3,065 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FCF Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 138.7% during the 4th quarter. FCF Advisors LLC now owns 22,240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,833,000 after acquiring an additional 12,923 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at A. O. Smith

In other A. O. Smith news, Director Idelle K. Wolf sold 814 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $65,120.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 46,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,691,200. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total transaction of $836,990.70. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 9,455 shares in the company, valued at $800,176.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Idelle K. Wolf sold 814 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $65,120.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 46,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,691,200. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 95,631 shares of company stock worth $8,042,535. 2.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on AOS shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com cut A. O. Smith from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Citigroup upped their target price on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $88.50.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

NYSE AOS opened at $87.00 on Thursday. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1-year low of $63.88 and a 1-year high of $89.96. The company has a market capitalization of $12.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.51, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $85.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.01. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 14.45%. The firm had revenue of $978.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $995.91 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.94 EPS. A. O. Smith’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is currently 34.59%.

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.