A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Stock Position Reduced by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank decreased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 50.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 115,682 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 118,372 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned about 0.08% of A. O. Smith worth $7,891,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AOS. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter worth $60,000. Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 19.8% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 812 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in A. O. Smith during the third quarter valued at $82,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other A. O. Smith news, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $27,507.35. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,749 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $180,471.85. This represents 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 through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of A. O. Smith 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $583,562.85. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AOS. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. 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. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $80.86.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

AOS stock traded up $0.61 during trading on Monday, hitting $67.46. The company had a trading volume of 1,139,542 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,013,261. The business has a 50 day moving average of $67.84 and a 200 day moving average of $73.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. A. O. Smith Co. has a fifty-two week low of $64.55 and a fifty-two week high of $92.45.

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 earnings per share (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%. As a group, research analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.47%.

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.