A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Position Lessened by Seizert Capital Partners LLC

Seizert Capital Partners LLC decreased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 97,704 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 6,030 shares during the period. Seizert Capital Partners LLC owned 0.07% of A. O. Smith worth $6,664,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AOS. Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at about $268,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. acquired a new position in A. O. Smith during the third quarter valued at approximately $256,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 11.0% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 24,552 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,206,000 after buying an additional 2,435 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 6.7% in the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,638 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $956,000 after acquiring an additional 671 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northstar Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Northstar Asset Management Inc. now owns 118,568 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $10,651,000 after acquiring an additional 1,264 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of A. O. Smith 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 $67,356.90. Following the transaction, the vice president now 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of A. O. Smith stock traded up $1.22 during trading on Friday, hitting $69.45. 1,389,433 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,436,910. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.55. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12 month low of $64.55 and a 12 month high of $92.44. The stock's fifty day moving average is $67.93 and its 200 day moving average is $74.55. The stock has a market cap of $10.00 billion, a PE ratio of 19.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were given a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AOS. Oppenheimer decreased their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group dropped their target price on A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Friday. Five equities research 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 $80.86.

A. O. Smith 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.