Norges Bank Takes Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Norges Bank bought a new stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 1,410,054 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $96,180,000. Norges Bank owned 0.97% of A. O. Smith as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 40.0% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,299 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter valued at $123,000. Mutual Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter worth $209,000. Finally, Stevens Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter worth $214,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 2.7 %

Shares of A. O. Smith stock traded down $1.74 during trading on Friday, hitting $61.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,853,079 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,095,425. The stock has a market cap of $8.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.26. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52 week low of $61.59 and a 52 week high of $92.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $66.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

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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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on AOS shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Saturday, March 22nd. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of 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. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of 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, StockNews.com raised A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $80.86.

Insider Activity

In other A. O. Smith news, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $27,507.35. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,749 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $180,471.85. The trade was a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,889 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $583,562.85. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

A. O. Smith Company 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.