Unique Wealth Strategies LLC Makes New $747,000 Investment in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 9,058 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $747,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AOS. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in A. O. Smith by 628.0% during the 3rd quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 597 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 515 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 36.1% in the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 712 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 393.1% in 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 during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 39.2% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,203 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 339 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 195 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AOS. StockNews.com cut A. O. Smith from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on A. O. Smith from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Citigroup upped their price target on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on A. O. Smith from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total value of $836,990.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 9,455 shares in the company, valued at $800,176.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $800,176.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 60,258 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.51, for a total transaction of $5,092,403.58. Following the sale, the director now owns 56,951 shares in the company, valued at $4,812,929.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 95,631 shares of company stock worth $8,042,535 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of AOS stock traded up $0.39 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $83.21. The company had a trading volume of 1,316,242 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,049,093. The company has a market capitalization of $12.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.54, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.25. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12-month low of $63.88 and a 12-month 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $85.71 and a 200-day moving average of $79.85.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $978.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $995.91 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 30.94% and a net margin of 14.94%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.94 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.09 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.16%.

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.