Deutsche Bank AG Sells 71,414 Shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS)

Deutsche Bank AG reduced its stake in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 9.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 666,689 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 71,414 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG owned approximately 0.46% of A. O. Smith worth $43,575,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 69.9% during the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 491 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in A. O. Smith during the first quarter valued at $72,000. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 22.1% during the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,181 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the period. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan bought a new stake in A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter valued at $84,000. Finally, South Dakota Investment Council bought a new stake in A. O. Smith during the first quarter valued at $92,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of AOS stock traded down $0.34 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $72.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,251,606 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,575,294. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.22. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $68.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.83. A. O. Smith Corporation has a one year low of $58.83 and a one year high of $92.06.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.10. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.42% and a net margin of 13.68%. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $997.89 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.06 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio is 37.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AOS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $76.00 price objective (up previously from $74.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on A. O. Smith in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on A. O. Smith from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $77.43.

Insider Buying and Selling at A. O. Smith

In other news, Chairman Kevin J. Wheeler sold 22,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.26, for a total value of $1,581,972.00. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 100,647 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,172,105.22. The trade was a 18.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

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.