A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Shares Purchased by Cibc World Markets Corp

Cibc World Markets Corp increased its holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 15.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 2,473 shares during the quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $1,284,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AOS. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 4.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,721,581 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $693,630,000 after acquiring an additional 299,766 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in A. O. Smith by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,586,905 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $321,348,000 after purchasing an additional 52,593 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,302,659 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $206,848,000 after buying an additional 87,458 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 40.1% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,648,825 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $112,467,000 after buying an additional 471,990 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in A. O. Smith by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,231,084 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $83,972,000 after acquiring an additional 12,305 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the company’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 $583,562.85. This represents a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $27,507.35. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,471.85. The trade was a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 0.4 %

AOS stock opened at $66.47 on Friday. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52 week low of $64.55 and a 52 week high of $92.45. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18.

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 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%. Equities analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. 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 report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of 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 shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.