King Luther Capital Management Corp Has $4.23 Million Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

King Luther Capital Management Corp lessened its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 12.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 62,067 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 8,680 shares during the quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $4,234,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter worth about $43,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 812 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $82,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at A. O. Smith

In other news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 8,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $583,562.85. This represents a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on AOS shares. Citigroup dropped 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 research report on Monday, January 13th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $80.86.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

NYSE AOS opened at $65.66 on Thursday. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1 year low of $64.55 and a 1 year high of $92.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market cap of $9.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.09, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $67.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.12.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 13.98%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.47%.

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.