A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Stake Reduced by Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group

Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group reduced its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,423 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 958 shares during the quarter. Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $1,052,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Huntington National Bank grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 19.8% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 812 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 5.1% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 4.3% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 3,992 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $359,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 2.2% in the third quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 7,967 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $716,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 5,873 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AOS. StockNews.com raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group decreased their price target on A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.86.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE AOS opened at $65.66 on Thursday. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12 month low of $64.55 and a 12 month high of $92.44. The company has a market cap of $9.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.12.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.05). A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 28.87%. Sell-side analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is 37.47%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $67,356.90. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $27,507.35. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,749 shares of the company’s stock, 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. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.