Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Cuts Stock Holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lessened its position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,114,205 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 10,039 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned about 0.77% of A. O. Smith worth $76,000,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,117,943 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $962,985,000 after purchasing an additional 148,432 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 4.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,721,581 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $693,630,000 after buying an additional 299,766 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.5% in the third 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 in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 40.1% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,648,825 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $112,467,000 after acquiring an additional 471,990 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter valued at about $96,180,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at A. O. Smith

In other A. O. Smith news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $67,356.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $583,562.85. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $27,507.35. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,749 shares in the company, valued at $180,471.85. This represents a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of AOS opened at $65.59 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $67.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.95. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12-month low of $64.55 and a 12-month high of $92.45. 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 firm has a market cap of $9.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is presently 37.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AOS. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Saturday, March 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target 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. Finally, Citigroup dropped 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 report on Monday, January 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.