Belpointe Asset Management LLC Takes $74,000 Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Belpointe Asset Management LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS – Get Rating) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 1,296 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $74,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the third quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Archer Investment Corp grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 1,600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 48.7% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,721 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $110,000 after buying an additional 564 shares during the period. Finally, Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at $142,000. 77.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 1st. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on A. O. Smith from $70.00 to $78.00 in a report on Friday, April 28th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. TheStreet raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “c+” rating to a “b+” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 27th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price objective on A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Monday, May 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at A. O. Smith

In other news, Director Michael M. Larsen acquired 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $66.89 per share, for a total transaction of $267,560.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $764,218.25. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other A. O. Smith news, Director Michael M. Larsen bought 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price 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 approximately $764,218.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Benjamin A. Otchere sold 4,285 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 547 shares in the company, valued at $38,290. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

NYSE AOS opened at $68.42 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.84. The company has a market capitalization of $10.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.30, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $67.69 and a 200 day moving average of $63.77. A. O. Smith Co. has a one year low of $46.58 and a one year high of $71.87.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $966.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $922.05 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.77 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.47 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

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

A. O. Smith Profile

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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.