Insider Selling: A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) SVP Sells 419 Shares of Stock

A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the company's 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,749 shares in the company, valued at $180,471.85. This trade represents a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AOS traded up $0.22 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $66.22. The company had a trading volume of 1,719,948 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,574,804. 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 company has a market cap of $9.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.24, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.17. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12-month low of $64.55 and a 12-month high of $92.44. The company has a fifty day moving average of $69.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $75.92.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.05). A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 13.98%. On average, equities research analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. A. O. Smith's payout ratio is presently 37.47%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On A. O. Smith

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in A. O. Smith by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,117,943 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $962,985,000 after buying an additional 148,432 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in A. O. Smith by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,721,581 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $693,630,000 after buying an additional 299,766 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in A. O. Smith by 26.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,704,295 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $320,880,000 after buying an additional 995,043 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in A. O. Smith by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,698,517 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $251,751,000 after buying an additional 111,612 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in A. O. Smith by 19.0% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,618,191 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $178,587,000 after buying an additional 417,595 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AOS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. DA Davidson cut A. O. Smith from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target 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. StockNews.com raised A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group lowered their price target 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. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $80.86.

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.