A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Shares Sold by Unigestion Holding SA

Unigestion Holding SA lowered its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 29.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 107,971 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 45,570 shares during the period. Unigestion Holding SA owned 0.07% of A. O. Smith worth $7,365,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aristides Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter worth about $308,000. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in A. O. Smith by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 384,575 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,232,000 after acquiring an additional 45,643 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 8,455 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $577,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Aviva PLC increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 8,365 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $571,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares during the period. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter worth approximately $210,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AOS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective 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. UBS Group cut their target price on 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.86.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $180,471.85. This trade represents a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the business’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 $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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

NYSE AOS opened at $61.92 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $66.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.40. The company has a market capitalization of $8.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.06, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.26. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1-year low of $61.89 and a 1-year high of $92.45. 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) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.