Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Increases Stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS – Get Rating) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,209 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 409 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $928,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 0.3% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 55,205 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,681,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the period. MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in A. O. Smith in the third quarter valued at about $415,000. Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 5.9% in the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 9,893 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 22.9% in the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 293,110 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,239,000 after purchasing an additional 54,601 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 33,410 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,912,000 after purchasing an additional 1,010 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on A. O. Smith from $70.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Friday, April 28th. Citigroup boosted their price target on A. O. Smith from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 1st. TheStreet upgraded A. O. Smith from a “c+” rating to a “b+” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 27th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Monday, May 1st. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on A. O. Smith in a research note on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.13.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:AOS opened at $68.42 on Friday. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12-month low of $46.58 and a 12-month high of $71.87. The company has a market capitalization of $10.29 billion, a PE ratio of 43.30, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a 50 day moving average of $67.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $63.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.17. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.78% and a net margin of 6.49%. The company had revenue of $966.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $922.05 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.77 earnings per share. A. O. Smith’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.47 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 28th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 27th. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 75.95%.

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

In other news, Director Michael M. Larsen purchased 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $66.89 per share, for a total transaction of $267,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $764,218.25. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other A. O. Smith news, VP Benjamin A. Otchere sold 4,285 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $299,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 547 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,290. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Michael M. Larsen bought 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $66.89 per share, with a total value of $267,560.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 11,425 shares in the company, valued at $764,218.25. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

About A. O. Smith

(Get Rating)

A. O. Smith Corp. manufactures residential and commercial gas and electric water heaters, boilers, tanks, and water treatment products. It operates through the North America and Rest of World segments. The North America segment manufactures and markets comprehensive lines of residential and commercial gas and electric water heaters, boilers, and tanks.