Amalgamated Bank Increases Stock Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Amalgamated Bank lifted its position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 42,896 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 419 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $3,536,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter worth about $1,258,000. Trust Point Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter worth $4,047,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 24.3% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 246,964 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $20,360,000 after acquiring an additional 48,325 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 8.8% during the third quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 37,768 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,498,000 after acquiring an additional 3,065 shares during the period. Finally, FCF Advisors LLC raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 138.7% during the fourth quarter. FCF Advisors LLC now owns 22,240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,833,000 after purchasing an additional 12,923 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction, the vice president now owns 9,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $800,176.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other A. O. Smith news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total value of $836,990.70. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 9,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $800,176.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 60,258 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.51, for a total transaction of $5,092,403.58. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 56,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,812,929.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 94,817 shares of company stock valued at $7,977,415 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AOS. Citigroup increased their target price on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on A. O. Smith from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target 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. StockNews.com cut shares of A. O. Smith from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $90.67.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of AOS opened at $86.37 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $86.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $80.78. The stock has a market cap of $12.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.37, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.27. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12-month low of $63.88 and a 12-month high of $89.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.01. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 30.94% and a net margin of 14.94%. The firm had revenue of $978.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $995.91 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.94 EPS. A. O. Smith’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. 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.