Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Raises Stock Holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 5.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 7,446 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 385 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $614,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AOS. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 515 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in A. O. Smith by 393.1% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 858 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 684 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its position in A. O. Smith by 39.2% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,203 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 52.4% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,506 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $122,000 after buying an additional 518 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at A. O. Smith

In other A. O. Smith news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total transaction of $836,990.70. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 9,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $800,176.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 24,669 shares of the firm’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 $4,728,072.02. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now owns 9,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $800,176.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 95,631 shares of company stock valued at $8,042,535 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Citigroup increased their target price on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered A. O. Smith from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Five research 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $88.50.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 4.8 %

Shares of AOS stock opened at $82.85 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $85.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $79.75. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1-year low of $63.88 and a 1-year high of $89.96. The company has a market cap of $12.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

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

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.59%.

A. O. Smith Company 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.