Vontobel Holding Ltd. Sells 482,898 Shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. lessened its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 96.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,627 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 482,898 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.'s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $1,021,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in A. O. Smith by 41.6% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,089 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $463,000 after purchasing an additional 2,084 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.0% during the fourth 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 buying an additional 12,305 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake 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 worth $1,898,000 after buying an additional 1,834 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings 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 during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $7,015,000. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Five 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.com, A. O. Smith currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $75.29.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of A. O. Smith stock traded up $0.08 on Monday, reaching $68.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,935,512 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,296,598. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 52 week low of $58.83 and a 52 week high of $92.45. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $66.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $66.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market capitalization of $9.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.20.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $963.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $950.56 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.39% and a net margin of 13.74%. A. O. Smith's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.00 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

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.