Anchor Capital Advisors LLC Lowers Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Anchor Capital Advisors LLC cut its holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 19.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 539,678 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 126,270 shares during the quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.37% of A. O. Smith worth $36,811,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AOS. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith in the third quarter worth about $43,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith in the third quarter worth about $55,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter worth about $60,000. Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 19.8% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 812 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in A. O. Smith in the third quarter worth about $82,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at A. O. Smith

In other A. O. Smith news, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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. This trade represents a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $67,356.90. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $583,562.85. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Oppenheimer reduced 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 report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.86.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

AOS opened at $65.98 on Friday. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52-week low of $64.55 and a 52-week 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 cap of $9.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.17. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $68.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.00.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 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, equities analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is currently 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.