Stevens Capital Management LP Reduces Stock Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Stevens Capital Management LP lowered its position in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 25.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,175 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,783 shares during the period. Stevens Capital Management LP’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $674,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AOS. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,431 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $491,000 after purchasing an additional 822 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 17,257 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,212,000 after purchasing an additional 1,601 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 393.1% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 858 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 684 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 697,543 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $46,129,000 after purchasing an additional 1,959 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 47.7% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 21,776 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,440,000 after purchasing an additional 7,033 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

AOS stock traded down $4.15 during trading on Thursday, reaching $82.85. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,380,900 shares, compared to its average volume of 982,610. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1 year low of $63.88 and a 1 year high of $89.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a market capitalization of $12.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.25. The company’s fifty day moving average is $85.62 and its 200-day moving average is $79.73.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $978.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $995.91 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 14.45%. A. O. Smith’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.94 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 34.59%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 24,669 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.02, for a total transaction of $2,048,020.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 56,951 shares in the company, valued at $4,728,072.02. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 60,258 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.51, for a total value of $5,092,403.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 56,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,812,929.01. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 24,669 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.02, for a total transaction of $2,048,020.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 56,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,728,072.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 95,631 shares of company stock worth $8,042,535 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AOS has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of A. O. Smith from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $88.50.

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.