Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC Has $694,000 Stock Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 20.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,170 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,732 shares during the period. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $694,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AOS. KBC Group NV grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 40.1% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,648,825 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $112,467,000 after purchasing an additional 471,990 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 92.4% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 761,410 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $68,397,000 after purchasing an additional 365,710 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 4.0% during 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 period. Vest Financial LLC boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 24.0% in the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 769,325 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $52,476,000 after acquiring an additional 149,113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Regents Gate Capital LLP bought a new position in A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter worth approximately $9,993,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 1.2 %

AOS stock opened at $65.61 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $67.99 and its 200-day moving average is $74.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.45 billion, a PE ratio of 18.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. 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.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 EPS 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other A. O. Smith news, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 represents a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AOS has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup cut their price target 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. UBS Group cut their price target on A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price target on A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $80.86.

About A. O. Smith

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.