Federated Hermes Inc. Buys 45,643 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 13.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 384,575 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 45,643 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. owned about 0.27% of A. O. Smith worth $26,232,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AOS. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter worth about $60,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter worth approximately $66,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its position 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 valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the period. Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter valued at $123,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter worth $201,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AOS traded up $0.45 on Monday, reaching $64.95. 162,064 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,113,934. 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 $9.35 billion, a PE ratio of 17.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.26. The company's 50 day moving average is $65.70 and its 200-day moving average is $71.27. A. O. Smith Co. has a fifty-two week low of $58.83 and a fifty-two week high of $92.45.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AOS. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on 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. 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 research report on Monday, January 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $79.33.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,889 shares in the company, valued at $583,562.85. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.