Freedom Day Solutions LLC Sells 7,937 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Freedom Day Solutions LLC reduced its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 22.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,413 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 7,937 shares during the period. Freedom Day Solutions LLC's holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $1,870,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Waldron Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at about $55,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter valued at about $60,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank boosted its position 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 buying an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other A. O. Smith news, 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,749 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $180,471.85. This represents a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 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 transaction of $67,356.90. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,889 shares of the company's stock, valued at $583,562.85. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of AOS stock traded down $0.81 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $65.99. 1,097,764 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,548,583. A. O. Smith Co. has a fifty-two week low of $64.55 and a fifty-two week high of $92.44. The stock's fifty day moving average is $68.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.40. The company has a market cap of $9.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.17. 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 (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on AOS. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.