Forsta AP Fonden Sells 25,800 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Forsta AP Fonden decreased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 32.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,600 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 25,800 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $3,588,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 214.9% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 359 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC bought a new stake in A. O. Smith in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the third quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the third quarter worth about $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AOS shares. UBS Group decreased their target price on A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. DA Davidson lowered shares of A. O. Smith from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup decreased their price objective on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com upgraded A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price target on A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $80.86.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

NYSE:AOS traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $65.65. 1,508,424 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,541,618. A. O. Smith Co. has a one year low of $64.94 and a one year 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 $9.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.17. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $70.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $76.81.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share (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%. Research analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.47%.

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.