A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) Shares Sold by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. has significantly decreased its holdings in A. O. Smith Corporation by 35.1%, now owning 7,202 shares worth approximately $471,000.
• A. O. Smith recently reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.07 for the quarter, surpassing estimates by $0.10, although quarterly revenue declined by 1.3% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.34 per share, yielding 1.9%, with a payout ratio of 37.88%.

Pacer Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 35.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,202 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 3,890 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $471,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in 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 last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 7.8% during 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 last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Allstate Corp bought a new stake in A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $232,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 362.7% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 270,285 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $18,436,000 after buying an additional 211,866 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 0.5%

AOS stock traded down $0.38 during trading on Friday, reaching $70.41. The company had a trading volume of 1,262,954 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,684,340. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 52 week low of $58.83 and a 52 week high of $92.06. The business has a 50 day moving average of $67.06 and a 200 day moving average of $66.80. The company has a market cap of $9.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.61, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

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. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $997.89 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.68% and a return on equity of 28.42%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.06 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AOS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on A. O. Smith in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $77.43.

Insider Activity at A. O. Smith

In related news, Chairman Kevin J. Wheeler sold 22,200 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.26, for a total transaction of $1,581,972.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 100,647 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,172,105.22. The trade was a 18.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

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.