A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Holdings Lowered by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 313,711 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 5,273 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned about 0.21% of A. O. Smith worth $25,862,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Artemis Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 628.0% during the third quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 597 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 36.1% during the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 712 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 393.1% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 858 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 684 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith during the second quarter valued at approximately $66,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at A. O. Smith

In other A. O. Smith news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total value of $836,990.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now 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 can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 24,669 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.02, for a total transaction of $2,048,020.38. Following the transaction, the director now owns 56,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,728,072.02. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total transaction of $836,990.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 9,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $800,176.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 95,631 shares of company stock worth $8,042,535. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on AOS shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. StockNews.com lowered shares of A. O. Smith from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $88.50.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:AOS opened at $86.07 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.59. The company has a market cap of $12.67 billion, a PE ratio of 23.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.25. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52 week low of $63.88 and a 52 week high of $89.96. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $85.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $79.38.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $988.10 million for 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.86 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

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

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.