Hsbc Holdings PLC Decreases Holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Hsbc Holdings PLC decreased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 31.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 416,418 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 193,316 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 0.29% of A. O. Smith worth $28,369,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter valued at $60,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter worth about $66,000. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter worth approximately $84,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 40.0% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,299 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter worth approximately $123,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company's stock.

A. O. Smith Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE:AOS traded up $0.82 on Wednesday, reaching $67.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 763,995 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,489,470. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $65.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.44. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12-month low of $58.83 and a 12-month high of $92.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a market cap of $9.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.26.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last released 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 business had revenue of $963.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $950.56 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 28.87%. The business's revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.00 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.47%.

Insider Activity at A. O. Smith

In other A. O. Smith news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $67,356.90. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,889 shares in the company, valued at $583,562.85. This represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $27,507.35. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,471.85. The trade was a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on AOS shares. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.