A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Shares Bought by Welch & Forbes LLC

Welch & Forbes LLC raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 568,613 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 2,210 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $38,785,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Huntington National Bank boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 19.8% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 812 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 5.1% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the period. Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 4.3% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 3,992 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $359,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. Claro Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 2.2% in the third quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 7,967 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $716,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. Finally, Greenleaf Trust boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 5,873 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. 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 report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.86.

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

In other news, 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,471.85. The trade was a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $67,356.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,889 shares in the company, valued at $583,562.85. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE AOS opened at $68.21 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.79, 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 current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The business has a 50-day moving average of $67.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.59. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1 year low of $64.55 and a 1 year high of $92.44.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly 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 return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 13.98%. On average, analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.47%.

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.