Sentry Investment Management LLC Has $522,000 Stock Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Sentry Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 833.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,327 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,649 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $522,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AOS. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 1.2% in the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 17,210 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,093,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 21.4% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 35,713 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,282,000 after purchasing an additional 6,288 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 5.2% in the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 17,584 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,123,000 after purchasing an additional 867 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 4.9% in the first quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 4,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 1.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,145,799 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $73,218,000 after purchasing an additional 20,616 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

NYSE:AOS opened at $85.15 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $12.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $84.70 and its 200-day moving average is $78.81. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1-year low of $63.88 and a 1-year high of $89.96.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.01. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 14.45%. The business had revenue of $988.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $985.89 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Citigroup boosted their target price on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on A. O. Smith from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded A. O. Smith from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at A. O. Smith

In other news, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 24,669 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly 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 available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 24,669 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly 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 available at the SEC website. Also, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 60,258 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.51, for a total value of $5,092,403.58. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 56,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,812,929.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 95,631 shares of company stock worth $8,042,535. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

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.