HBK Sorce Advisory LLC Sells 207 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lowered its holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,472 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 207 shares during the quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $578,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Huntington National Bank raised its position 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 worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 5.1% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 3,992 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $359,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 7,967 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $716,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 5,873 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $401,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $67,356.90. Following 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $27,507.35. Following 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

A. O. Smith Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE:AOS opened at $66.91 on Friday. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12-month low of $64.55 and a 12-month high of $92.44. The company has a market capitalization of $9.63 billion, a PE ratio of 18.43, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. The business has a 50 day moving average of $67.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.96 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 earnings per share (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%. As a group, analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid 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 yield of 2.03%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group decreased their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on 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. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, A. O. Smith has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.86.

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.