A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Shares Sold by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank lessened its position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 338,900 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 20,300 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.23% of A. O. Smith worth $23,116,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in A. O. Smith in the third quarter valued at $55,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter worth about $60,000. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 812 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter worth about $82,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on AOS shares. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped 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. Citigroup reduced their target price on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Friday, March 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $583,562.85. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $27,507.35. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,749 shares in the company, valued at $180,471.85. This trade 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.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

A. O. Smith stock opened at $67.46 on Tuesday. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $67.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.74. The company has a market capitalization of $9.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12-month low of $64.55 and a 12-month high of $92.45.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 13.98%. On average, research analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is currently 37.47%.

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.