Buckhead Capital Management LLC Grows Stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Buckhead Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 7.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,243 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 408 shares during the quarter. Buckhead Capital Management LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $515,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AOS. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in A. O. Smith by 47.7% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 21,776 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,440,000 after purchasing an additional 7,033 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in A. O. Smith by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 55,605 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,677,000 after purchasing an additional 1,291 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund increased its holdings in A. O. Smith by 21.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 22,465 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,486,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in A. O. Smith by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 19,644 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,299,000 after purchasing an additional 1,730 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in A. O. Smith by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 118,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,804,000 after purchasing an additional 14,314 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 24,669 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.02, for a total value of $2,048,020.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now 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 accessible through this link. In related news, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 24,669 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.02, for a total value of $2,048,020.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 56,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,728,072.02. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total value of $836,990.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 9,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $800,176.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 95,631 shares of company stock valued at $8,042,535. 2.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of A. O. Smith stock traded down $0.05 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $82.79. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 973,934 shares, compared to its average volume of 999,093. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a market cap of $12.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.25. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1-year low of $63.88 and a 1-year high of $89.96. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $85.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.17.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.01. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 30.94% and a net margin of 14.94%. The company had revenue of $978.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $995.91 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.94 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.08 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on A. O. Smith from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on A. O. Smith from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Citigroup lifted their price target on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.67.

About A. O. Smith

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.