Xponance Inc. Cuts Holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Xponance Inc. cut its holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,873 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 277 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $1,083,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AOS. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in A. O. Smith during the third quarter worth about $43,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter worth $60,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith during the third quarter worth $82,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in A. O. Smith by 40.0% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,299 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

In other A. O. Smith news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,749 shares in the company, valued at $180,471.85. This represents a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

A. O. Smith stock opened at $66.47 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $67.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.31. 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 52 week low of $64.55 and a 52 week high of $92.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.31, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 13.98%. 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of 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 research note on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup reduced their price objective 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Saturday. Five 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 currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.