A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Shares Sold by Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt

Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lessened its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 94.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,000 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 16,400 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt's holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $68,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AOS. Sarasin & Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the third quarter valued at approximately $78,766,000. KBC Group NV raised its position in A. O. Smith by 40.1% during 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. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 92.4% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 761,410 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $68,397,000 after buying an additional 365,710 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,721,581 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $693,630,000 after buying an additional 299,766 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the third quarter valued at $24,060,000. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Saturday, February 1st. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $80.86.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of AOS stock traded up $0.24 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $65.97. 769,293 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,469,689. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a market cap of $9.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.17. A. O. Smith Co. has a fifty-two week low of $64.94 and a fifty-two week high of $92.44. The stock's 50 day moving average is $69.51 and its 200-day moving average is $76.26.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.05). A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 28.87%. Analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling at A. O. Smith

In other news, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the company's 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,749 shares of the company's stock, valued at $180,471.85. This represents a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $67,356.90. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 8,889 shares in the company, valued at $583,562.85. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.