Geode Capital Management LLC Has $251.75 Million Holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,698,517 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 111,612 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 2.55% of A. O. Smith worth $251,751,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Greenleaf Trust increased its holdings in A. O. Smith by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 5,873 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 34,838 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,376,000 after buying an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp raised its position in A. O. Smith by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 6,785 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $609,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 3,454 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $236,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Finally, United Asset Strategies Inc. boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 9,198 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $627,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AOS. UBS Group cut their price objective 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. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of 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. Citigroup decreased their price objective on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Saturday, March 22nd. Finally, 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. Five equities 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 company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $80.86.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 2.7 %

AOS stock opened at $61.92 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $66.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.40. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1-year low of $61.89 and a 1-year high of $92.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.91 billion, a PE ratio of 17.06, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.26. 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 (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is 37.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $180,471.85. This trade represents a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $67,356.90. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 8,889 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

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.