UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Sells 27,146 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lowered its position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 670,436 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 27,146 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned 0.46% of A. O. Smith worth $45,730,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AOS. Norges Bank purchased a new position in A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter valued at about $96,180,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 26.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,704,295 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $320,880,000 after purchasing an additional 995,043 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 40.1% in the 4th 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. Voloridge Investment Management LLC increased its position in A. O. Smith by 242.8% during the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 627,282 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $42,787,000 after buying an additional 444,307 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 19.0% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,618,191 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $178,587,000 after buying an additional 417,595 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

A. O. Smith stock traded down $4.43 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $64.14. 3,501,252 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,186,936. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12 month low of $58.83 and a 12 month high of $92.45. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $65.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.28.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $963.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $950.56 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 13.98%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.00 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. A. O. Smith's payout ratio is currently 37.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AOS. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Saturday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $76.17.

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.