Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. Buys 69,800 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 22.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 374,933 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 69,800 shares during the quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $25,574,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AOS. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,726,000. FORA Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the third quarter worth about $730,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,586,905 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $321,348,000 after buying an additional 52,593 shares during the period. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 89.3% in the 3rd quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 36,206 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,252,000 after buying an additional 17,079 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 3.9% during the 3rd 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 during the period. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AOS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Saturday, February 1st. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. DA Davidson downgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $80.86.

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

In other A. O. Smith news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $27,507.35. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of A. O. Smith stock opened at $65.97 on Wednesday. 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. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $69.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.26. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12 month low of $64.94 and a 12 month high of $92.44.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued 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 return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 13.98%. As a group, analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.77 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given 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 of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. 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.