Metis Global Partners LLC Has $272,000 Stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Metis Global Partners LLC cut its position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 37.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,986 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,417 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $272,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AOS. Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $268,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 24,552 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,206,000 after buying an additional 2,435 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,638 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $956,000 after buying an additional 671 shares in the last quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS increased its position in A. O. Smith by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 34,722 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,119,000 after purchasing an additional 2,776 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $240,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

A. O. Smith Trading Up 2.6 %

AOS opened at $68.21 on Friday. A. O. Smith Co. has a fifty-two week low of $64.55 and a fifty-two week high of $92.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.79, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $67.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.59.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.05). A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 28.87%. As a group, research analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.47%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $67,356.90. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $583,562.85. This represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $27,507.35. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,471.85. This represents a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AOS. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.86.

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.