Mather Group LLC. Purchases 8,239 Shares of A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Mather Group LLC. increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 210,649 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,239 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC.’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $14,088,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in A. O. Smith by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,412,842 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,058,047,000 after acquiring an additional 182,876 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its position in A. O. Smith by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 4,850,158 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $356,050,000 after purchasing an additional 157,856 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 54.2% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,208,831 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $235,560,000 after acquiring an additional 1,128,543 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 4.6% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,508,947 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $184,182,000 after purchasing an additional 109,654 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,082,982 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $152,912,000 after buying an additional 36,122 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

NYSE:AOS opened at $65.53 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 52 week low of $58.83 and a 52 week high of $81.86. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $73.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.06 billion, a PE ratio of 16.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.33.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.06. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 29.51% and a net margin of 14.26%.The company had revenue of $912.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $928.97 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.85 EPS. A. O. Smith’s quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AOS. Stifel Nicolaus set a $85.00 target price on A. O. Smith and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $77.00 target price on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $75.00 price target on A. O. Smith and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $78.00 price objective (up from $72.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $77.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Darrell W. Schuh sold 1,104 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.39, for a total value of $82,126.56. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 2,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $163,732.39. This trade represents a 33.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.