Metis Global Partners LLC Has $272,000 Stock Holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Metis Global Partners LLC cut its position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 37.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,986 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,417 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $272,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the third quarter worth $268,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 11.0% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 24,552 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,206,000 after acquiring an additional 2,435 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 6.7% during the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,638 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $956,000 after acquiring an additional 671 shares during the period. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 8.7% during the third quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 34,722 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,119,000 after acquiring an additional 2,776 shares during the period. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the third quarter worth $240,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 transaction of $27,507.35. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of A. O. Smith 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $583,562.85. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of AOS opened at $68.21 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $67.95 and a 200-day moving average of $74.59. A. O. Smith Co. has a one year low of $64.55 and a one year high of $92.44. The company has a market cap of $9.82 billion, a PE ratio of 18.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. 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 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 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 issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 37.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on AOS shares. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group dropped 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 report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer decreased their target price 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 reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Citigroup decreased 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 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.86.

A. O. Smith 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.