Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Has $16.36 Million Stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD reduced its holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 239,792 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,377 shares during the quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned approximately 0.17% of A. O. Smith worth $16,358,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Greenleaf Trust boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 5,873 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in A. O. Smith by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 34,838 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,376,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC increased its position in A. O. Smith by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 3,454 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $236,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 9,198 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $627,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 31,511 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,149,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AOS has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on 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. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.17.

Insider Activity at A. O. Smith

In other A. O. Smith news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 8,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $583,562.85. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $27,507.35. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,471.85. This represents a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:AOS opened at $67.37 on Friday. 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 1-year low of $58.83 and a 1-year high of $92.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.56, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.26. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $65.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.32.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $963.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $950.56 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 28.87%. A. O. Smith’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.00 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.47%.

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.