Nicholas Company Inc. grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 22.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 355,916 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 65,735 shares during the quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. owned 0.25% of A. O. Smith worth $24,277,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in A. O. Smith by 4.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,721,581 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $693,630,000 after acquiring an additional 299,766 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,586,905 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $321,348,000 after purchasing an additional 52,593 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,302,659 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $206,848,000 after purchasing an additional 87,458 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 40.1% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,648,825 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $112,467,000 after purchasing an additional 471,990 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 12,305 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company's stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of brokerages have issued reports on AOS. StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group dropped their price objective on A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $80.86.
Read Our Latest Report on AOS
Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith
In related news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $67,356.90. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $583,562.85. This represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,749 shares in the company, valued at $180,471.85. This trade represents a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.
A. O. Smith Trading Down 1.2 %
Shares of AOS stock traded down $0.84 on Thursday, reaching $66.76. 1,101,811 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,014,248. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1-year low of $64.55 and a 1-year high of $92.45. The stock has a market cap of $9.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. 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 50 day moving average of $67.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.59.
A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.05). A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 13.98%. On average, research analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.
A. O. Smith Announces Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.04%. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.47%.
About A. O. Smith
(
Free Report)
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.
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