Freedom Day Solutions LLC Has $1.87 Million Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Freedom Day Solutions LLC cut its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 22.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,413 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 7,937 shares during the period. Freedom Day Solutions LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $1,870,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Waldron Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter worth $55,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter worth $60,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 19.8% during the 3rd 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note 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 on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on 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, DA Davidson cut A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $80.86.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 2.6 %

AOS stock opened at $67.43 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.78 billion, a PE ratio of 18.58, a PEG ratio of 1.46 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.57.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its 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 net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 28.87%. On average, equities analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 37.47%.

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

In other news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $67,356.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $583,562.85. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the business’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 $27,507.35. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly 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 owned by 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.