Sonen Capital LLC Sells 3,826 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Sonen Capital LLC decreased its holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 41.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,334 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,826 shares during the period. Sonen Capital LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $440,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in A. O. Smith by 94.4% during the 3rd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 548,939 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,350,000 after acquiring an additional 266,558 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 460.9% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 264,514 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $17,492,000 after purchasing an additional 217,356 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 30.3% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 769,447 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $50,884,000 after buying an additional 178,707 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 63.8% during the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 454,446 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,053,000 after buying an additional 176,987 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,038,837 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $200,958,000 after buying an additional 133,339 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on AOS. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com lowered A. O. Smith from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on A. O. Smith from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.67.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE:AOS opened at $83.21 on Friday. 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 $12.25 billion, a PE ratio of 21.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.25. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $85.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.01. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.94% and a return on equity of 30.94%. The business had revenue of $978.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $995.91 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.94 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.16%.

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.