Swiss National Bank Decreases Stock Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Swiss National Bank lowered its position in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 388,200 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 11,200 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.26% of A. O. Smith worth $32,003,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AOS. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 94.4% during the third quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 548,939 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $36,350,000 after purchasing an additional 266,558 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in A. O. Smith by 460.9% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 264,514 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $17,492,000 after purchasing an additional 217,356 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its position in A. O. Smith by 30.3% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 769,447 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $50,884,000 after purchasing an additional 178,707 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its position in A. O. Smith by 63.8% in the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 454,446 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $30,053,000 after purchasing an additional 176,987 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in A. O. Smith by 4.6% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,038,837 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $200,958,000 after purchasing an additional 133,339 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total value of $836,990.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 9,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $800,176.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total value of $836,990.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 9,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $800,176.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 60,258 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.51, for a total transaction of $5,092,403.58. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 56,951 shares in the company, valued at $4,812,929.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 94,817 shares of company stock worth $7,977,415 in the last quarter. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AOS traded up $0.36 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $85.58. 500,169 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 975,770. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $86.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.27. A. O. Smith Co. has a twelve month low of $63.88 and a twelve month high of $89.96.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.01. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.94% and a return on equity of 30.94%. The business had revenue of $978.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $995.91 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.94 EPS. The business's revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AOS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Oppenheimer reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $90.67.

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.