Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Sells 42,407 Shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS)

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lessened its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 40.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 61,932 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 42,407 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC's holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $4,048,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. RMR Wealth Builders raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 4,898 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 34,838 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,376,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 1.8% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 13,831 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $903,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 27,307 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,863,000 after buying an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 31,511 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,149,000 after buying an additional 319 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AOS shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped 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. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on A. O. Smith in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup lowered their price objective on A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Friday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $75.29.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 1.5%

A. O. Smith stock traded up $0.98 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $65.65. The company had a trading volume of 2,027,503 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,288,986. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 12 month low of $58.83 and a 12 month high of $92.45. The company has a market capitalization of $9.33 billion, a PE ratio of 18.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.21. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $65.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.05. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.74% and a return on equity of 28.39%. The company had revenue of $963.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $950.56 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.00 EPS. A. O. Smith's revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors 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 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.99%.

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.