A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Shares Sold by Trillium Asset Management LLC

Trillium Asset Management LLC trimmed its stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 0.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 47,968 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 141 shares during the period. Trillium Asset Management LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $3,491,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vigilant Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Addison Advisors LLC grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 93.6% during the 1st quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 457 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in A. O. Smith during the second quarter worth approximately $38,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 344.1% in the first quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 906 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 702 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the first quarter valued at approximately $83,000. 74.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

NYSE AOS traded up $0.77 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $75.77. 68,162 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,063,615. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a market cap of $11.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.26. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12-month low of $55.41 and a 12-month high of $76.98. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $68.72 and a 200 day moving average of $70.06.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $937.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $910.81 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 30.76% and a net margin of 7.87%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.69 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 31st were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is a positive change from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 30th. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is presently 64.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kevin J. Wheeler sold 12,917 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.09, for a total transaction of $892,435.53. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 71,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,937,378.67. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Kevin J. Wheeler sold 12,917 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction on Friday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.09, for a total transaction of $892,435.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 71,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,937,378.67. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP James F. Stern sold 8,118 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.00, for a total transaction of $584,496.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 128,118 shares in the company, valued at $9,224,496. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 142,942 shares of company stock worth $10,297,592 in the last 90 days. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on AOS shares. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Tuesday, September 12th. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $87.00 in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn restated a “neutral” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Monday, August 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.29.

A. O. Smith Company Profile

A. O. Smith Corporation manufactures and markets residential and commercial gas, heat pump and electric water heaters, boilers, tanks, and water treatment products in North America, China, Europe, and India. It operates through two segments, North America and Rest of World. The company offers water heaters for residences, restaurants, hotels, office buildings, laundries, car washes, and small businesses; commercial boilers for hospitals, schools, hotels, and other large commercial buildings, as well as residential boilers for homes, apartments, and condominiums; and water treatment products comprising point-of-entry water softeners, well water solutions, and whole-home water filtration products, on-the-go filtration bottles, point-of-use carbon, and reverse osmosis products for residences, restaurants, hotels, and offices.