A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Stake Lowered by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank decreased its stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 338,900 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 20,300 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $23,116,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 19.8% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 812 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $291,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the period. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its position in A. O. Smith by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 3,992 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $359,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 7,967 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $716,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. Finally, Greenleaf Trust grew its position in A. O. Smith by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 5,873 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

In other A. O. Smith news, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the company’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 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $67,356.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $583,562.85. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of A. O. Smith stock opened at $67.46 on Tuesday. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52 week low of $64.55 and a 52 week high of $92.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a market cap of $9.71 billion, a PE ratio of 18.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $67.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.74.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 13.98%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AOS. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup cut their target price on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com upgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their target price 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $80.86.

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.