Virtu Financial LLC Raises Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Virtu Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 288.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,747 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 13,178 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial LLC's holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $1,211,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,726,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,231,084 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $83,972,000 after buying an additional 12,305 shares in the last quarter. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at $730,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in A. O. Smith by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,586,905 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $321,348,000 after acquiring an additional 52,593 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in A. O. Smith by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 27,825 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,898,000 after purchasing an additional 1,834 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity

In other news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were 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 directly owns 8,889 shares in the company, valued at $583,562.85. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AOS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com raised A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of 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 note on Saturday, March 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $80.86.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 0.6 %

A. O. Smith stock traded down $0.37 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $66.98. 764,752 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,026,310. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.64 billion, a PE ratio of 18.45, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. 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 firm's 50 day simple moving average is $67.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.12. A. O. Smith Co. has a twelve month low of $64.55 and a twelve month high of $92.45.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.47%.

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.