3,072 Shares in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Acquired by Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 3,072 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $253,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Artemis Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 628.0% during the 3rd quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 597 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 515 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 36.1% during the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 712 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 393.1% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 858 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 684 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 2nd quarter valued at $66,000. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Idelle K. Wolf sold 814 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $65,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 46,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,691,200. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total transaction of $836,990.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 9,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $800,176.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Idelle K. Wolf sold 814 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $65,120.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 46,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,691,200. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 95,631 shares of company stock valued at $8,042,535. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AOS opened at $86.07 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $12.67 billion, a PE ratio of 23.26, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1-year low of $63.88 and a 1-year high of $89.96. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $85.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.19.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $988.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $985.89 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.45% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.86 EPS. Research analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is presently 34.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of A. O. Smith from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $88.50.

A. O. Smith Company 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.