9,488 Shares in A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS Acquired by Westwood Wealth Management

Westwood Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 9,488 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $635,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AOS. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 3,125.0% in the third quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 387 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new position in A. O. Smith in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in A. O. Smith by 67.9% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 487 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at A. O. Smith

In other A. O. Smith news, SVP Darrell W. Schuh sold 1,104 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.39, for a total value of $82,126.56. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 2,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $163,732.39. This represents a 33.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of AOS stock opened at $65.53 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $73.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $70.27. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 52 week low of $58.83 and a 52 week high of $81.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.06 billion, a PE ratio of 16.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.33.

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

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on AOS shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Wednesday, December 24th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $85.00 price target on shares of A. O. Smith and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $77.00 price objective on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Friday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $75.00 price objective on A. O. Smith and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $69.00 target price on A. O. Smith and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $77.00.

About A. O. Smith

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.