Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. Has $25.57 Million Holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 22.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 374,933 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 69,800 shares during the quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. owned about 0.26% of A. O. Smith worth $25,574,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Waldron Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in A. O. Smith during the third quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 19.8% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 812 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

NYSE AOS opened at $65.97 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $69.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $76.26. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1 year low of $64.94 and a 1 year high of $92.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.77 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is presently 37.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AOS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. DA Davidson cut shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group lowered their target price on A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at A. O. Smith

In other 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,471.85. This trade represents a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 8,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $583,562.85. This represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

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.