Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Boosts Stock Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,803 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 332 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $362,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AOS. KBC Group NV raised 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 period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 92.4% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 761,410 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $68,397,000 after purchasing an additional 365,710 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,721,581 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $693,630,000 after purchasing an additional 299,766 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 24.0% in the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 769,325 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $52,476,000 after buying an additional 149,113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Regents Gate Capital LLP acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter worth about $9,993,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE AOS opened at $69.68 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $67.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a market cap of $10.03 billion, a PE ratio of 19.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52 week low of $64.55 and a 52 week high of $92.44.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on AOS shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup reduced their price objective on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Friday. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group lowered 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.86.

Insider Activity

In other A. O. Smith news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the business’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 value of $67,356.90. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 8,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $583,562.85. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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 value of $27,507.35. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.