Meeder Asset Management Inc. Has $613,000 Stock Holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 82.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,992 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 41,006 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $613,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AOS. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its holdings in A. O. Smith by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 9,765 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $877,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 180.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 125,384 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,263,000 after buying an additional 80,632 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in A. O. Smith during the third quarter worth $850,000. Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its position in A. O. Smith by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 3,992 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $359,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 697,582 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $62,664,000 after acquiring an additional 15,447 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on AOS. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Saturday, March 22nd. 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. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group dropped their price target on A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.86.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of AOS opened at $65.33 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market cap of $9.40 billion, a PE ratio of 18.00, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1 year low of $64.55 and a 1 year high of $92.45. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $67.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.82.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 28.87%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is 37.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling at A. O. Smith

In other A. O. Smith news, 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $180,471.85. The trade was a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was 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. Insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

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.