Quantbot Technologies LP Has $4.52 Million Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Quantbot Technologies LP increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 599.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 66,238 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 56,771 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $4,518,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Huntington National Bank increased its position in A. O. Smith by 19.8% in 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 last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in A. O. Smith by 5.1% in 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 last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in A. O. Smith by 4.3% in 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 last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other A. O. Smith news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $67,356.90. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 8,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $583,562.85. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the firm’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 $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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group lowered their price objective on A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.86.

A. O. Smith Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of A. O. Smith stock opened at $66.91 on Friday. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1 year low of $64.55 and a 1 year high of $92.44. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $67.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.96. The company has a market cap of $9.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.43, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.05). A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 13.98%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company 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 2.03%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is presently 37.47%.

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.