Raymond James Financial Inc. Takes $7.02 Million Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 102,842 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $7,015,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of A. O. Smith as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AOS. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the third quarter valued at about $43,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter worth $60,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the third quarter worth $82,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter worth $123,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of AOS stock traded down $0.37 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $66.98. 764,745 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,426,697. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.55. A. O. Smith Co. has a fifty-two week low of $64.55 and a fifty-two week high of $92.44. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.12. The firm has a market cap of $9.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18.

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A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.05). A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 28.87%. Equities analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. A. O. Smith's payout ratio is currently 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 dated 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 8,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $583,562.85. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 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 value of $27,507.35. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,471.85. The trade was a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AOS has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group cut their target price on A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note 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 report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an "outperform" 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $80.86.

A. O. Smith Company 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.