Florida Financial Advisors LLC Decreases Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Florida Financial Advisors LLC lowered its stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 8.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 322 shares during the quarter. Florida Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $229,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the third quarter worth $43,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith during the third quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter worth $82,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its position 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 worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 2,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $180,471.85. This trade represents a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were 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 approximately $583,562.85. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of AOS stock opened at $66.76 on Wednesday. A. O. Smith Co. has a fifty-two week low of $64.55 and a fifty-two week 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 firm has a market capitalization of $9.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.39, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $67.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.16.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 37.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. 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 research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group dropped their target price on A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Citigroup dropped 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently 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.