Unigestion Holding SA Sells 54,286 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Unigestion Holding SA decreased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 50.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 53,685 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 54,286 shares during the quarter. Unigestion Holding SA's holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $3,509,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AOS. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter worth about $66,000. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan purchased a new position in A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $84,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in A. O. Smith by 40.0% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,299 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 40.4% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,571 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $103,000 after acquiring an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mufg Securities Americas Inc. bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $120,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of AOS stock traded down $0.52 on Thursday, reaching $63.78. 2,323,123 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,241,369. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $65.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.06 billion, a PE ratio of 17.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52 week low of $58.83 and a 52 week high of $92.45.

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

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. A. O. Smith's payout ratio is 37.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AOS. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $76.17.

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.