A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Shares Acquired by Vest Financial LLC

Vest Financial LLC increased its position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 24.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 769,325 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 149,113 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC owned 0.53% of A. O. Smith worth $52,476,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp increased its holdings in A. O. Smith by 4.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,721,581 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $693,630,000 after purchasing an additional 299,766 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake 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 last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in A. O. Smith by 3.9% during the third 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 in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 40.1% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,648,825 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $112,467,000 after purchasing an additional 471,990 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,137,184 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $102,153,000 after buying an additional 83,495 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AOS. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Oppenheimer cut their price objective 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. Citigroup decreased their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, DA Davidson cut shares of A. O. Smith from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $80.86.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE AOS traded down $0.67 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $65.30. 863,834 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,448,780. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $69.35 and a 200 day moving average of $76.18. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1 year low of $64.55 and a 1 year high of $92.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a market cap of $9.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.17.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 28.87%. On average, research analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.77 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other A. O. Smith news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 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 $67,356.90. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 8,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $583,562.85. This represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction 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 firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, 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. 2.70% of the stock is owned by 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.