A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Stock Holdings Lowered by Guggenheim Capital LLC

Guggenheim Capital LLC reduced its position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 27.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 83,275 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 32,094 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC owned approximately 0.06% of A. O. Smith worth $5,680,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter valued at about $60,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter worth approximately $84,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 40.0% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,299 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter valued at $123,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on AOS. StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on 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. Citigroup dropped their price target on A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $84.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $76.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at A. O. Smith

In related news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 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 transaction of $67,356.90. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the company'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 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 $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 Stock Performance

A. O. Smith stock traded up $0.50 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $64.46. 687,259 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,475,758. A. O. Smith Co. has a fifty-two week low of $58.83 and a fifty-two week high of $92.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a market cap of $9.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.76, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.26. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $65.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $70.16.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 research analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.47%.

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.