A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Position Decreased by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 7.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 205,817 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 16,326 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $14,039,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Greenleaf Trust boosted its stake 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 period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 34,838 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,376,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 6,785 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $609,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the period. Advisory Alpha LLC boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 3,454 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $236,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the period. Finally, United Asset Strategies Inc. grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 9,198 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $627,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares in 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, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the firm’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 owns 8,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $583,562.85. This trade represents 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 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 value of $27,507.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $180,471.85. The trade was 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 corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AOS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer reduced 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. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Saturday, March 22nd. UBS Group lowered their target price on A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.86.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of AOS stock opened at $61.92 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.06, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.55. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $66.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.40. A. O. Smith Co. has a twelve month low of $61.89 and a twelve month high of $92.45.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share 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, research analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is 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.