Versor Investments LP Acquires New Holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 16,100 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,327,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in A. O. Smith by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,230 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $214,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.2% during the third quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 4,762 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $315,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. PAX Financial Group LLC raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 1.7% in the third quarter. PAX Financial Group LLC now owns 10,773 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $712,000 after buying an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 36.1% in the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 712 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the period. Finally, Guinness Asset Management LTD boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 8,036 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $531,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 24,669 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.02, for a total transaction of $2,048,020.38. Following the sale, the director now owns 56,951 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,728,072.02. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 24,669 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.02, for a total transaction of $2,048,020.38. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 56,951 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,728,072.02. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total value of $836,990.70. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 9,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $800,176.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 94,817 shares of company stock valued at $7,977,415. 2.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 0.0 %

A. O. Smith stock traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $86.38. The stock had a trading volume of 459,833 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,068,886. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $86.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.01. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12-month low of $63.88 and a 12-month high of $89.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.27.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $978.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $995.91 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 30.94% and a net margin of 14.94%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.94 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. A. O. Smith's payout ratio is 33.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AOS shares. Citigroup raised their target price on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com lowered shares of A. O. Smith from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $90.67.

About A. O. Smith

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.