Harfst & Associates Inc. Purchases 3,291 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Harfst & Associates Inc. boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 11.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,265 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,291 shares during the period. Harfst & Associates Inc.’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $2,201,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AOS. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Huntington National Bank grew its stake 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 valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $82,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 8,889 shares in the company, valued at $583,562.85. This represents a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 1.2 %

NYSE:AOS opened at $66.18 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $68.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.06. The company has a market cap of $9.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.17. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52-week low of $64.55 and a 52-week high of $92.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.55.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 EPS 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AOS shares. UBS Group lowered their price objective on A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup decreased their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Five investment 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 company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.