Aviso Financial Inc. Buys New Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Aviso Financial Inc. bought a new stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 11,800 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $805,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith in the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in A. O. Smith in the third quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 19.8% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 812 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in A. O. Smith in the third quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AOS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup decreased their price target on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group reduced their target price on A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $80.86.

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A. O. Smith Price Performance

NYSE AOS traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $67.61. The stock had a trading volume of 1,217,810 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,013,432. The firm's 50 day moving average is $67.80 and its 200 day moving average is $73.63. A. O. Smith Co. has a twelve month low of $64.55 and a twelve month high of $92.45. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $9.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.62, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18.

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 net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 28.87%. Equities research analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling at A. O. Smith

In other A. O. Smith news, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $27,507.35. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,749 shares in the company, valued at $180,471.85. This represents a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $67,356.90. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,889 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $583,562.85. This represents a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.