Financial Advocates Investment Management Makes New Investment in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Financial Advocates Investment Management bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,448 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $284,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Trillium Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC now owns 62,290 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,135,000 after purchasing an additional 6,777 shares during the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 763,557 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $62,948,000 after purchasing an additional 6,767 shares during the last quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter valued at about $338,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 8,510 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $702,000 after purchasing an additional 1,192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 192,386 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $15,861,000 after purchasing an additional 5,463 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AOS. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. StockNews.com cut shares of A. O. Smith from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.67.

Insider Activity at A. O. Smith

In other A. O. Smith news, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 60,258 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.51, for a total transaction of $5,092,403.58. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 56,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,812,929.01. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 24,669 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 56,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,728,072.02. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 60,258 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.51, for a total transaction of $5,092,403.58. Following the transaction, the director now owns 56,951 shares in the company, valued at $4,812,929.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 94,817 shares of company stock valued at $7,977,415. 2.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 0.1 %

AOS opened at $85.74 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.27. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12 month low of $63.88 and a 12 month high of $89.96. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $86.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $978.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $995.91 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.94% and a return on equity of 30.94%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.94 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th were given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.16%.

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.