Gitterman Wealth Management LLC Acquires New Stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Gitterman Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 5,071 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $418,000. A. O. Smith makes up approximately 0.2% of Gitterman Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AOS. Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in A. O. Smith by 393.1% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 858 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 684 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 47.7% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 21,776 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,440,000 after purchasing an additional 7,033 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 55,605 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,677,000 after purchasing an additional 1,291 shares during the last quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 21.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 22,465 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,486,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TriaGen Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at $784,000. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at A. O. Smith

In other A. O. Smith news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total transaction of $836,990.70. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 9,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $800,176.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other A. O. Smith news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total transaction of $836,990.70. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 9,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $800,176.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 24,669 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.02, for a total value of $2,048,020.38. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 56,951 shares in the company, valued at $4,728,072.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 95,631 shares of company stock worth $8,042,535. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of AOS stock traded up $0.39 on Friday, reaching $83.21. The stock had a trading volume of 1,316,242 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,049,093. The stock has a market cap of $12.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.25. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1 year low of $63.88 and a 1 year high of $89.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.65. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $85.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $79.92.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released 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 firm had revenue of $978.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $995.91 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 30.94% and a net margin of 14.94%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.94 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.09 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on AOS shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on A. O. Smith from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Citigroup increased their target price on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on A. O. Smith from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.67.

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.