Robert J. Heideman Sells 1,026 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Stock

A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the vice president now owns 8,889 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $583,562.85. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE AOS traded up $0.22 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $66.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,719,948 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,574,804. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $69.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $75.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.96. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1 year low of $64.55 and a 1 year high of $92.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.17.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share (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%. On average, equities analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.77 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 37.47%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cypress Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter worth approximately $677,000. Voleon Capital Management LP purchased a new position in A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter worth approximately $215,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 423,137 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $28,862,000 after acquiring an additional 44,403 shares during the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 10,583 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $722,000 after buying an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 22.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,475,503 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $100,644,000 after buying an additional 266,297 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AOS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Oppenheimer dropped their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, 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 report on Monday, January 13th. Five equities research 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, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.