New York Life Investment Management LLC Has $2.65 Million Stock Holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

New York Life Investment Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,180 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 347 shares during the quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $2,653,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Addison Advisors LLC increased its holdings in A. O. Smith by 36.1% during the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 712 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 25.5% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 961 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 39.2% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,203 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in A. O. Smith by 52.4% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,506 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $122,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares during the period. Finally, Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. increased its position in A. O. Smith by 31.4% during the fourth quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,597 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $132,000 after buying an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 9,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $800,176.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total value of $836,990.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 9,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $800,176.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 60,258 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.51, for a total value of $5,092,403.58. Following the sale, the director now owns 56,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,812,929.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 95,631 shares of company stock worth $8,042,535. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

A. O. Smith Trading Up 0.9 %

AOS stock opened at $84.31 on Monday. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52 week low of $63.88 and a 52 week high of $89.96. The company has a market capitalization of $12.37 billion, a PE ratio of 21.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.27. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $86.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $80.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.65.

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

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AOS shares. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of A. O. Smith from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.67.

A. O. Smith Company Profile

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.