Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Acquires Shares of 16,271 A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC purchased a new position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 16,271 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,110,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AOS. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 40.1% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,648,825 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $112,467,000 after buying an additional 471,990 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 92.4% in 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 buying an additional 365,710 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 4.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,721,581 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $693,630,000 after buying an additional 299,766 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the third quarter worth about $24,060,000. Finally, Vest Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 149,113 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of AOS opened at $66.04 on Friday. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1-year low of $64.55 and a 1-year high of $92.44. The stock has a market cap of $9.58 billion, a PE ratio of 18.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.17. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $76.11. 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 quarterly earnings results 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 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 3.77 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling at A. O. Smith

In other news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $67,356.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $583,562.85. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $27,507.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,749 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AOS. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Saturday, February 1st. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup cut 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.