Royal Bank of Canada Trims Stock Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Royal Bank of Canada cut its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 7.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 529,309 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 40,196 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.37% of A. O. Smith worth $36,105,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,231,084 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $83,972,000 after acquiring an additional 12,305 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 27,825 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,898,000 after acquiring an additional 1,834 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in A. O. Smith by 124.5% in the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,694 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $457,000 after acquiring an additional 3,712 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter worth approximately $7,015,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 122,726 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $8,371,000 after acquiring an additional 17,442 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 4.5%

Shares of A. O. Smith stock traded down $3.09 on Wednesday, reaching $65.49. The company had a trading volume of 828,806 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,176,591. 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 firm's 50-day moving average price is $65.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.20. The firm has a market cap of $9.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.28. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1 year low of $58.83 and a 1 year high of $92.45.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $963.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $950.56 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 28.87%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company 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 fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on AOS. Citigroup decreased their target price on A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird upped their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.