2,828 Shares in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Purchased by First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 2,828 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $233,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,258,000. Trust Point Inc. bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter worth $4,047,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 24.3% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 246,964 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $20,360,000 after purchasing an additional 48,325 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 8.8% during the third quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 37,768 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,498,000 after purchasing an additional 3,065 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FCF Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 138.7% in the fourth quarter. FCF Advisors LLC now owns 22,240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,833,000 after purchasing an additional 12,923 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AOS opened at $85.22 on Wednesday. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52-week low of $63.88 and a 52-week high of $89.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.08, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.27. 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $86.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $80.70.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $978.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $995.91 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.94% and a return on equity of 30.94%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.94 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 33.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total value of $836,990.70. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 9,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $800,176.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total transaction of $836,990.70. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 9,455 shares in the company, valued at $800,176.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 60,258 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.51, for a total transaction of $5,092,403.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 56,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,812,929.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 94,817 shares of company stock worth $7,977,415. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AOS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research 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 research report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com cut A. O. Smith from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average 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.