A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Stake Lessened by Ieq Capital LLC

Ieq Capital LLC lessened its position in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 60.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,953 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 5,939 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC's holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $270,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in A. O. Smith in the third quarter worth about $1,726,000. FORA Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $730,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,586,905 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $321,348,000 after purchasing an additional 52,593 shares during the period. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 89.3% during the 3rd quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 36,206 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,252,000 after purchasing an additional 17,079 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,302,659 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $206,848,000 after buying an additional 87,458 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at A. O. Smith

In related news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction dated 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 trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $27,507.35. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,471.85. The trade was a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AOS traded up $0.21 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $66.59. The company had a trading volume of 918,589 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,412,442. A. O. Smith Co. has a twelve month low of $64.55 and a twelve month high of $92.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.59 billion, a PE ratio of 18.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.17. The firm's fifty day moving average is $68.06 and its 200 day moving average is $74.75.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 28.87%. On average, equities analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith's payout ratio is 37.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AOS shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective 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. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of 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. UBS Group dropped 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 note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.