WealthPLAN Partners LLC Cuts Holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

WealthPLAN Partners LLC reduced its position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 25.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,011 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 5,925 shares during the period. WealthPLAN Partners LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $1,160,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PUREfi Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $252,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 4,089 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in A. O. Smith by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 374,933 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,574,000 after purchasing an additional 69,800 shares during the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 8,722 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $595,000 after buying an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Regents Gate Capital LLP bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter worth about $9,993,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on AOS shares. Robert W. Baird lowered 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 report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup lowered their price objective on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. DA Davidson downgraded A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer cut 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 research report on Friday, January 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.86.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE:AOS opened at $66.22 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $9.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.17. A. O. Smith Co. has a twelve month low of $64.55 and a twelve month high of $92.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $69.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.99.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. Analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.77 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $67,356.90. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $583,562.85. This represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of A. O. Smith 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $180,471.85. The trade was 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 currently owned by company insiders.

About A. O. Smith

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.