Fisher Asset Management LLC Sells 86,708 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Fisher Asset Management LLC decreased its position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,215,951 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 86,708 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned approximately 1.53% of A. O. Smith worth $151,150,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AOS. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the third quarter worth $55,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter worth $60,000. Huntington National Bank grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the third quarter worth $82,000. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AOS opened at $66.43 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.17. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1-year low of $64.55 and a 1-year high of $92.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $68.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $74.88.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its earnings results 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%. Equities analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

In related news, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the business’s 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 $583,562.85. This represents a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AOS. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased 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 note on Friday, January 31st. 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, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.