Cypress Advisory Group LLC Takes $677,000 Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Cypress Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 9,920 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $677,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AOS. Virtu Financial LLC boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 60.0% during the third quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 4,569 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 1,713 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,726,000. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter worth about $235,000. Pensionfund Sabic raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 42.3% during the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 18,500 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,262,000 after acquiring an additional 5,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at A. O. Smith

In other news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $67,356.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,889 shares of the company's stock, valued at $583,562.85. This represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $27,507.35. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,749 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $180,471.85. The trade was a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on AOS. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group lowered their target price on A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $76.17.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AOS traded down $0.77 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $67.57. The company had a trading volume of 320,008 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,481,910. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.96. A. O. Smith Co. has a fifty-two week low of $58.83 and a fifty-two week high of $92.44. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $65.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.02.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.05. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 13.98%. The business had revenue of $963.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $950.56 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.00 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.99%.

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.