A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Shares Bought by Inceptionr LLC

Inceptionr LLC lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 53.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,320 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,513 shares during the quarter. Inceptionr LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $295,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter valued at $7,015,000. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 34,838 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,376,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC now owns 10,170 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $694,000 after purchasing an additional 1,732 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,735,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,579,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $67,356.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,889 shares of the company’s stock, 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $180,471.85. This trade represents a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of A. O. Smith stock opened at $69.45 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $10.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52-week low of $64.55 and a 52-week high of $92.44. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $67.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.37. 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 released 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AOS shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Friday. 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 research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered 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 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, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.