A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Shares Bought by Virtu Financial LLC

Virtu Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 288.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 17,747 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,178 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $1,211,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,726,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,231,084 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $83,972,000 after purchasing an additional 12,305 shares during the last quarter. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $730,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,586,905 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $321,348,000 after purchasing an additional 52,593 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 124.5% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,694 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $457,000 after purchasing an additional 3,712 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $67,356.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $583,562.85. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $27,507.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $180,471.85. This trade represents a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on AOS. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Saturday. UBS Group lowered their target price on A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price target on A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.86.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 0.4 %

AOS opened at $66.47 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $67.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.55. The company has a market cap of $9.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.31, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. A. O. Smith Co. has a one year low of $64.55 and a one year high of $92.45.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.05). A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 13.98%. Analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 37.47%.

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.