Sei Investments Co. Increases Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,402,497 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 35,355 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $95,664,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in A. O. Smith by 27.6% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,689 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $870,000 after purchasing an additional 2,096 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 20.9% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 84,256 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,569,000 after acquiring an additional 14,587 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter worth about $268,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the third quarter worth approximately $1,684,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in A. O. Smith by 63.2% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 35,234 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,165,000 after purchasing an additional 13,648 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

AOS opened at $66.47 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.31, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a 50-day moving average of $67.72 and a 200-day moving average of $73.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.55. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1-year low of $64.55 and a 1-year high of $92.45.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AOS. UBS Group cut their target price on A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup cut their price objective on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.86.

Insider Activity at A. O. Smith

In related news, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $27,507.35. Following the completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $583,562.85. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.