Voya Investment Management LLC Sells 4,495 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Voya Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 9.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 45,681 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 4,495 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC's holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $3,116,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AOS. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter valued at about $60,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter worth about $66,000. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan bought a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter worth approximately $84,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in A. O. Smith by 40.0% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,299 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter worth approximately $123,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $76.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at A. O. Smith

In other news, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $27,507.35. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,749 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $180,471.85. This represents a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $67,356.90. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $583,562.85. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE AOS traded up $1.15 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $68.08. 268,011 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,140,919. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.55. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $65.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.00. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52 week low of $58.83 and a 52 week high of $92.45. The company has a market cap of $9.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.75, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.28.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.05. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 28.87%. The business had revenue of $963.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $950.56 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.00 earnings per share. A. O. Smith's quarterly revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. A. O. Smith's payout ratio is currently 37.99%.

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.