3,403 Shares in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Purchased by Allstate Corp

Allstate Corp bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 3,403 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $232,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter valued at $66,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 40.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter worth $123,000. Finally, Mutual Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter worth $209,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 0.9 %

A. O. Smith stock opened at $66.21 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $9.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $66.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.67. A. O. Smith Co. has a fifty-two week low of $64.55 and a fifty-two week high of $92.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.05). A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 28.87%. As a group, analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

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

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 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of A. O. Smith 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,889 shares in the company, valued at $583,562.85. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AOS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Saturday, March 22nd. Citigroup dropped their price objective 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 objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer dropped their price target 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.