First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Acquires New Stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 2,828 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $233,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in A. O. Smith by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,230 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $214,000 after buying an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 4,762 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. PAX Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. PAX Financial Group LLC now owns 10,773 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $712,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 36.1% during the 3rd 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. Finally, Guinness Asset Management LTD increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 2.4% during the third quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 8,036 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $531,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of A. O. Smith stock opened at $85.22 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.50 billion, a PE ratio of 22.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $86.16 and its 200 day moving average is $80.70. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1 year low of $63.88 and a 1 year high of $89.96.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.01. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.94% and a return on equity of 30.94%. The company had revenue of $978.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $995.91 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.94 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.16%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 9,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $800,176.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 60,258 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 56,951 shares in the company, valued at $4,812,929.01. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 shares were 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 $800,176.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 94,817 shares of company stock valued at $7,977,415 over the last quarter. 2.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded A. O. Smith from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Citigroup boosted their price target on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group increased 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. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 26th. 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 presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.67.

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.