A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Shares Sold by WealthPLAN Partners LLC

WealthPLAN Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 25.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,011 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 5,925 shares during the quarter. WealthPLAN Partners LLC's holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $1,160,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Waldron Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the third quarter valued at $32,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in A. O. Smith during the third quarter valued at about $55,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the company'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 $67,356.90. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 8,889 shares in the company, valued at $583,562.85. This represents a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $27,507.35. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,749 shares in the company, valued at $180,471.85. The trade was a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. DA Davidson downgraded A. O. Smith from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock 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 for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $80.86.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 2.6 %

A. O. Smith stock traded up $1.71 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $67.43. The stock had a trading volume of 2,437,450 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,486,295. The business's 50 day moving average price is $68.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.96. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52 week low of $64.55 and a 52 week high of $92.44. The company has a market cap of $9.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.58, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.17.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.05). A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 28.87%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.77 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.47%.

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.