Insider Selling: A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) Chairman Sells 22,200 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• A. O. Smith Corporation's Chairman, Kevin J. Wheeler, sold 22,200 shares of stock at an average price of $71.26, totaling approximately $1.58 million, which reduced his ownership by 18.07%.
• The company reported quarterly earnings of $1.07 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations, but experienced a 1.3% year-over-year decline in revenue.
• A. O. Smith announced a quarterly dividend of $0.34 per share, reflecting a 1.93% yield for investors, with the payment date set for August 15th.

A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) Chairman Kevin J. Wheeler sold 22,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.26, for a total value of $1,581,972.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 100,647 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,172,105.22. This trade represents a 18.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of AOS stock traded down $0.36 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $70.43. The stock had a trading volume of 317,451 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,586,917. A. O. Smith Corporation has a one year low of $58.83 and a one year high of $92.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $66.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.62, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.20.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.10. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.42% and a net margin of 13.68%. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $997.89 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.06 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. A. O. Smith's payout ratio is 37.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on AOS. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Citigroup reduced their target price on A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group increased their target price on A. O. Smith from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on A. O. Smith in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $77.43.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AOS. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 16.6% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 122,726 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $8,371,000 after purchasing an additional 17,442 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 74,433 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,077,000 after purchasing an additional 5,390 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP lifted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 72.3% during the fourth quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 112,505 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $7,674,000 after buying an additional 47,200 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter worth $96,180,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter worth $66,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

About A. O. Smith

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.