Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. Sells 11,450 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. reduced its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 15.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 63,496 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 11,450 shares during the quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P.'s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $4,332,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AOS. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter valued at $60,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter worth about $66,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 40.0% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,299 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $123,000. Finally, Mutual Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter worth approximately $209,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at A. O. Smith

In related news, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the 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 $27,507.35. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $67,356.90. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 8,889 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $583,562.85. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

A. O. Smith stock traded up $0.96 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $64.92. The company had a trading volume of 625,490 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,124,342. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $65.38 and a 200 day moving average of $70.16. 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 firm has a market cap of $9.35 billion, a PE ratio of 17.88, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.26. A. O. Smith Co. has a one year low of $58.83 and a one year high of $92.45.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last announced its 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.09%. A. O. Smith's payout ratio is presently 37.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AOS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $84.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on 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. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, A. O. Smith presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $76.50.

About A. O. Smith

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.