Atwater Malick LLC Decreases Stock Position in A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Key Points

• Atwater Malick LLC cut its stake in A. O. Smith by 28.2% in Q4, selling 23,633 shares and ending with 60,069 shares worth $4.02 million, about 1.1% of its portfolio (its 22nd largest holding).
• Analyst sentiment is mixed-to-cautious with a consensus "Hold" rating and average price target of $75.67; notable changes include Goldman Sachs downgrading to a sell and cutting its target to $61, and Citigroup lowering its target to $74 (neutral).
• Company and insider activity: A. O. Smith beat Q4 EPS estimates ($0.90 vs. $0.84), declared a quarterly dividend of $0.36/share (annual $1.44, yield 2.1%, payable May 15), and SVP Darrell W. Schuh sold 1,104 shares, trimming his position by 33.4%.

Atwater Malick LLC lowered its position in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 28.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 60,069 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 23,633 shares during the period. A. O. Smith accounts for approximately 1.1% of Atwater Malick LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Atwater Malick LLC's holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $4,017,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rothschild Investment LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the third quarter worth $33,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the third quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $77.00 target price on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Wednesday, December 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $61.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $75.67.

Insider Activity at A. O. Smith

In other news, SVP Darrell W. Schuh sold 1,104 shares of the business'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 transaction of $82,126.56. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 2,201 shares of the company's stock, valued at $163,732.39. The trade was a 33.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

A. O. Smith stock opened at $67.14 on Tuesday. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 12 month low of $61.35 and a 12 month high of $81.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.28 billion, a PE ratio of 17.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.35.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $912.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $928.97 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 29.51% and a net margin of 14.26%.The company's quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. Equities analysts predict that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. A. O. Smith's payout ratio is 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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