Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Has $20.36 Million Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 24.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 246,964 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 48,325 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned approximately 0.17% of A. O. Smith worth $20,360,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Artemis Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the third quarter valued at about $37,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 628.0% in the third quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 597 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 36.1% in the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 712 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 393.1% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 858 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 684 shares during the period. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the second quarter valued at about $66,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at A. O. Smith

In other A. O. Smith news, Director Idelle K. Wolf sold 814 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $65,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 46,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,691,200. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total value of $836,990.70. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 9,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at $800,176.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Idelle K. Wolf sold 814 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $65,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 46,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,691,200. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 95,631 shares of company stock valued at $8,042,535 over the last quarter. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

AOS stock traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $86.69. 1,199,173 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 958,171. The company has a market cap of $12.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.25. The stock's 50 day moving average is $85.11 and its 200 day moving average is $79.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.06. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12-month low of $63.88 and a 12-month high of $89.96.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.01. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 14.45%. The business had revenue of $988.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $985.89 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.86 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.1 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. A. O. Smith's payout ratio is currently 34.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AOS. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Oppenheimer restated a "market perform" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com downgraded A. O. Smith from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $88.50.

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.