Aviso Financial Inc. Buys Shares of 11,800 A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Aviso Financial Inc. bought a new position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 11,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $805,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AOS. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at about $209,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in A. O. Smith by 4.8% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 286,735 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,757,000 after purchasing an additional 13,010 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in A. O. Smith by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 98,594 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,857,000 after buying an additional 684 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank lifted its position in A. O. Smith by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 812 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 6,403 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $575,000 after buying an additional 377 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 2.2 %

AOS opened at $66.91 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $9.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.55. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $67.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.96. A. O. Smith Co. has a twelve month low of $64.55 and a twelve month high of $92.44.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 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%. Research analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AOS shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on 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. StockNews.com upgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup dropped their price objective on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.86.

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

In other A. O. Smith news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of A. O. Smith 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 transaction, the vice president now directly 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 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 $27,507.35. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.