A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Shares Sold by Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS lessened its position in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 9.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 31,432 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,290 shares during the quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $2,144,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AOS. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its position in A. O. Smith by 4.4% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 13,228 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,188,000 after buying an additional 554 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in A. O. Smith by 648.8% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 45,330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,072,000 after buying an additional 39,276 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith during the third quarter valued at $32,000. Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith during the third quarter valued at $268,000. Finally, Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew its position in A. O. Smith by 8.2% during the third quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 5,224 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $469,000 after buying an additional 398 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other A. O. Smith news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 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 $67,356.90. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 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 $27,507.35. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,749 shares in the company, valued at $180,471.85. This trade represents a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on AOS. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup dropped 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 research report on Monday, January 13th. DA Davidson lowered shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.86.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

NYSE:AOS opened at $67.43 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $68.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a market cap of $9.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.17. A. O. Smith Co. has a twelve month low of $64.55 and a twelve month high of $92.44.

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 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.47%.

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.