A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Shares Acquired by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,117,943 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 148,432 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 9.74% of A. O. Smith worth $962,985,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AOS. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,726,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.0% during the 4th 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 buying an additional 12,305 shares in the last quarter. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at $730,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 1.5% in 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 buying an additional 52,593 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in A. O. Smith by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 27,825 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,898,000 after buying an additional 1,834 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 8,889 shares in the company, valued at $583,562.85. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $27,507.35. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of AOS traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $65.74. 165,279 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,083,790. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $67.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.71. The company has a market cap of $9.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.55. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12-month low of $64.55 and a 12-month high of $92.45.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. Research analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 2.07%. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AOS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. 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. StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of 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. Citigroup dropped 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, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Saturday, March 22nd. Five 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 stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $80.86.

About A. O. Smith

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.