First Trust Advisors LP Raises Stock Holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 19.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,618,191 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 417,595 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned 1.81% of A. O. Smith worth $178,587,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter valued at about $60,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter valued at about $66,000. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter worth approximately $84,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new stake in A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter worth approximately $123,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of A. O. Smith stock traded up $1.50 on Thursday, hitting $65.31. The company had a trading volume of 1,261,019 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,129,751. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.26. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $65.34 and a 200-day moving average of $70.11. A. O. Smith Co. has a twelve month low of $58.83 and a twelve month high of $92.45.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last posted 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 return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 13.98%. Research analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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 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 sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the business'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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,749 shares of the company's stock, valued at $180,471.85. This trade represents 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 insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $84.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group dropped their price objective on A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $76.50.

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.