Sarasin & Partners LLP Sells 75,387 Shares of A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Sarasin & Partners LLP trimmed its position in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,325,226 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 75,387 shares during the quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP owned about 0.95% of A. O. Smith worth $88,631,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 19.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 939,302 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $61,393,000 after acquiring an additional 154,201 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 133.4% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 698 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 399 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 28,508 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,869,000 after acquiring an additional 1,503 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 4.7% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 26,483 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,737,000 after purchasing an additional 1,184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealthspire Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the second quarter valued at $204,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of AOS opened at $64.01 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The business has a fifty day moving average of $73.57 and a 200 day moving average of $70.44. The company has a market cap of $8.85 billion, a PE ratio of 16.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.33. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 52-week low of $58.83 and a 52-week high of $81.86.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $912.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $928.97 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 29.51%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.85 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th were given a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is 37.31%.

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

In other A. O. Smith news, SVP Darrell W. Schuh sold 1,104 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.39, for a total value of $82,126.56. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 2,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $163,732.39. This trade represents a 33.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AOS shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $78.00 price target (up from $72.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $75.00 price objective on shares of A. O. Smith and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird set a $77.00 target price on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $85.00 price target on shares of A. O. Smith and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.00.

A. O. Smith Company Profile

A. O. Smith Corporation, based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a leading manufacturer of water heating and water treatment products for residential and commercial applications. Since its founding in 1874, the company has built a reputation for producing reliable, energy-efficient water heaters, boilers and pressure vessels. Its product portfolio encompasses gas, electric, condensing and tankless water heaters, as well as specialty boilers designed to meet a variety of building and industrial needs.

The company operates through two primary segments: North America and Asia.