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

Swiss National Bank lowered its position in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 388,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 11,200 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.26% of A. O. Smith worth $32,003,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AOS. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,991,142 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $164,150,000 after buying an additional 76,037 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter worth $233,000. Buckhead Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Buckhead Capital Management LLC now owns 6,243 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $515,000 after acquiring an additional 408 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 19.9% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 100,447 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,281,000 after purchasing an additional 16,643 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mach 1 Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter valued at $474,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of A. O. Smith stock opened at $85.22 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market cap of $12.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $86.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.70. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52-week low of $63.88 and a 52-week high of $89.96.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.01. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.94% and a return on equity of 30.94%. The business had revenue of $978.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $995.91 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.94 EPS. A. O. Smith’s revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 33.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of A. O. Smith from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on A. O. Smith from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on A. O. Smith from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, A. O. Smith currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at A. O. Smith

In other news, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 60,258 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.51, for a total value of $5,092,403.58. Following the sale, the director now owns 56,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,812,929.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 60,258 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.51, for a total transaction of $5,092,403.58. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 56,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,812,929.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total value of $836,990.70. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 9,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $800,176.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 94,817 shares of company stock valued at $7,977,415. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

A. O. Smith Company 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.