A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS Shares Purchased by Cwm LLC

Key Points

• Cwm LLC boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 116.3% in Q4, acquiring an additional 18,362 shares for a total holding of 34,146 shares worth about $2.28 million per its latest 13F filing.
• Wall Street consensus is a Hold with an average price target of $74.89; several firms trimmed targets recently, including Goldman Sachs which cut its target to $61 and rated the stock "sell."
• A. O. Smith announced a quarterly dividend of $0.36 (ex-dividend Apr 30, payable May 15), representing a 2.2% yield and a ~37.3% payout ratio.

Cwm LLC boosted its stake in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 116.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,146 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 18,362 shares during the period. Cwm LLC's holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $2,284,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 3,125.0% during the third quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 387 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 67.9% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 487 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the period. Finally, Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the third quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on AOS. Wall Street Zen cut A. O. Smith from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $75.00 price target on A. O. Smith and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Robert W. Baird set a $77.00 price target on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Friday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $61.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $74.89.

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

In related news, SVP Darrell W. Schuh sold 1,104 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.39, for a total value of $82,126.56. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 2,201 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $163,732.39. This represents a 33.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

NYSE:AOS opened at $64.42 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $68.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.14. A. O. Smith Corporation has a twelve month low of $62.14 and a twelve month high of $81.86. The company has a market capitalization of $8.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.35.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.06. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 29.51%. The firm had revenue of $912.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $928.97 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.85 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th will be paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.31%.

A. O. Smith Company Profile

A. O. Smith Corporation, based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a leading manufacturer of water heating and water treatment products for residential and commercial applications. Since its founding in 1874, the company has built a reputation for producing reliable, energy-efficient water heaters, boilers and pressure vessels. Its product portfolio encompasses gas, electric, condensing and tankless water heaters, as well as specialty boilers designed to meet a variety of building and industrial needs.

The company operates through two primary segments: North America and Asia.

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