Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Sells 1,681 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lowered its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,401 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,681 shares during the quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $3,438,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $60,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter valued at $66,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in A. O. Smith by 40.0% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,299 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter worth $123,000. Finally, Mutual Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter valued at about $209,000. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at A. O. Smith

In related news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 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 $67,356.90. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 8,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $583,562.85. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the 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. This trade represents 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 Down 2.0 %

Shares of AOS opened at $65.59 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $67.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.92. The company has a market cap of $9.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $64.55 and a twelve month high of $92.45.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share 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 expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is currently 37.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AOS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group cut 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 lowered their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.