AlphaQuest LLC Has $1.30 Million Stock Holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

AlphaQuest LLC boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 539.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,062 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,083 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $1,300,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at $55,000. Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 812 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter valued at $60,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at $82,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AOS. StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Friday. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price objective 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the business’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 $67,356.90. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,889 shares in the company, valued at $583,562.85. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction 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 business’s 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 owns 2,749 shares in the company, valued at $180,471.85. This represents a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Trading Up 1.8 %

AOS opened at $69.45 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12 month low of $64.55 and a 12 month high of $92.44. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $67.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.37. 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 (NYSE:AOS) last issued its quarterly 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, research analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.47%.

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.