Seizert Capital Partners LLC Sells 6,030 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Seizert Capital Partners LLC cut its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 97,704 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 6,030 shares during the period. Seizert Capital Partners LLC owned approximately 0.07% of A. O. Smith worth $6,664,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 4.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,721,581 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $693,630,000 after purchasing an additional 299,766 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,586,905 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $321,348,000 after acquiring an additional 52,593 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,302,659 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $206,848,000 after acquiring an additional 87,458 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 40.1% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,648,825 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $112,467,000 after acquiring an additional 471,990 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,231,084 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $83,972,000 after purchasing an additional 12,305 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at A. O. Smith

In other A. O. Smith news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 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 $67,356.90. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $27,507.35. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

AOS opened at $65.61 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $67.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.65. A. O. Smith Co. has a twelve month low of $64.55 and a twelve month high of $92.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a market capitalization of $9.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.08, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.05). A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 28.87%. Equities 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 37.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AOS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research 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 research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $80.86.

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.