Prudential PLC Has $625,000 Holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Prudential PLC trimmed its position in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 59.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,168 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 13,536 shares during the period. Prudential PLC's holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $625,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bryce Point Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter worth about $472,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter worth approximately $201,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in A. O. Smith by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,698,517 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $251,751,000 after buying an additional 111,612 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG raised its position in A. O. Smith by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 23,145 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,579,000 after acquiring an additional 4,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Financial LLC lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 83.4% in the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 4,487 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 2,041 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AOS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup cut 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. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $79.33.

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

In other A. O. Smith news, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $27,507.35. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,749 shares in the company, valued at $180,471.85. The trade was a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $67,356.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,889 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $583,562.85. This 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 Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AOS traded up $1.59 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $64.46. 1,588,907 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,117,644. The company's 50-day moving average price is $65.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $71.27. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1-year low of $58.83 and a 1-year high of $92.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.76, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 13.98%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio is 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.