Sei Investments Co. Boosts Holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Sei Investments Co. grew its position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,402,497 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 35,355 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. owned 0.97% of A. O. Smith worth $95,664,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $55,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $82,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 40.0% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,299 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of A. O. Smith stock opened at $66.47 on Friday. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1 year low of $64.55 and a 1 year high of $92.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.55. The company 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. The company’s fifty day moving average is $67.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.36.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. Analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 earnings per share 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 issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 37.47%.

Insider Activity

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AOS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus decreased 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. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a 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 on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Friday, March 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.