1,788 Shares in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Acquired by Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,788 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $147,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AOS. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 628.0% in the 3rd quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 597 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 36.1% in the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 712 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 393.1% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 858 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 684 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 39.2% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,203 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 25.5% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 961 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

NYSE AOS opened at $87.00 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.51, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.25. A. O. Smith Co. has a fifty-two week low of $63.88 and a fifty-two week high of $89.96. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $85.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.59.

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

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 1.47%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 sale, the director now directly owns 56,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,728,072.02. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other A. O. Smith news, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 60,258 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.51, for a total transaction of $5,092,403.58. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 56,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,812,929.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 24,669 shares of the business’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 sale, 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 95,631 shares of company stock worth $8,042,535. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on AOS shares. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com downgraded A. O. Smith from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. 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, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, 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.