Howard Capital Management Inc. Invests $314,000 in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS)

Key Points

• Howard Capital Management Inc. invested $314,000 in A. O. Smith Corporation during the first quarter, acquiring 4,807 shares of the company.
• Chairman Kevin J. Wheeler sold 22,200 shares at an average price of $71.26, decreasing his ownership by 18.07%.
• A. O. Smith announced a quarterly dividend of $0.34, representing a 1.9% dividend yield for stockholders of record on July 31st.

Howard Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 4,807 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $314,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its stake in A. O. Smith by 67.3% in the 1st quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 5,188,561 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $339,124,000 after buying an additional 2,086,433 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 26.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,704,295 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $320,880,000 after purchasing an additional 995,043 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,698,517 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $251,751,000 after purchasing an additional 111,612 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 19.0% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,618,191 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $178,587,000 after acquiring an additional 417,595 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,444,338 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $166,728,000 after acquiring an additional 236,880 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

AOS traded down $0.38 during trading on Friday, hitting $70.41. 1,262,954 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,684,340. The firm has a market cap of $9.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.22. The stock's fifty day moving average is $67.06 and its 200 day moving average is $66.80. A. O. Smith Corporation has a one year low of $58.83 and a one year high of $92.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $997.89 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.42% and a net margin of 13.68%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.06 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.88%.

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

In other news, Chairman Kevin J. Wheeler sold 22,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.26, for a total value of $1,581,972.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 100,647 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,172,105.22. This trade represents a 18.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AOS. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $77.43.

A. O. Smith 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.