Great Lakes Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC decreased its position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 75.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 58,159 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 177,192 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC's holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $3,967,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AOS. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in A. O. Smith in the third quarter valued at about $43,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith in the third quarter valued at about $55,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter valued at about $60,000. 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. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in A. O. Smith in the third quarter valued at about $82,000. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup decreased their price objective on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $80.86.

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A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AOS traded down $0.05 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $67.61. 1,217,810 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,418,844. 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 52-week low of $64.55 and a 52-week high of $92.44. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $67.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.63. The company has a market cap 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. 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 presently 37.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling at A. O. Smith

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