Loudon Investment Management LLC Buys 1,893 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Loudon Investment Management LLC grew its stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 33.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,469 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,893 shares during the quarter. Loudon Investment Management LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $616,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,230 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $214,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 4,762 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. PAX Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. PAX Financial Group LLC now owns 10,773 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $712,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 36.1% in the 3rd 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 period. Finally, Guinness Asset Management LTD grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 8,036 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $531,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at A. O. Smith

In other A. O. Smith news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total transaction of $836,990.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 9,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $800,176.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the 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 owns 9,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $800,176.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Idelle K. Wolf sold 814 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $65,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 46,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,691,200. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 95,631 shares of company stock worth $8,042,535. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 0.9 %

AOS stock traded up $0.75 during trading on Thursday, hitting $83.54. 734,365 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 995,978. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1 year low of $63.88 and a 1 year high of $89.96. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $85.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.19. The stock has a market cap of $12.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $978.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.94 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.07 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AOS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.67.

A. O. Smith 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.