Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Acquires 48,325 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 24.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 246,964 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 48,325 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $20,360,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter valued at $1,258,000. Trust Point Inc. purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter worth about $4,047,000. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 37,768 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,498,000 after purchasing an additional 3,065 shares during the last quarter. FCF Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 138.7% in the 4th quarter. FCF Advisors LLC now owns 22,240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,833,000 after purchasing an additional 12,923 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 10,836 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $894,000 after purchasing an additional 1,325 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AOS. Citigroup lifted their price target on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered A. O. Smith from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $88.50.

Insider Activity at A. O. Smith

In related news, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 24,669 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.02, for a total transaction of $2,048,020.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 56,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,728,072.02. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 24,669 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.02, for a total transaction of $2,048,020.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 56,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,728,072.02. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total value of $836,990.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 9,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $800,176.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 95,631 shares of company stock worth $8,042,535. 2.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

NYSE AOS opened at $86.46 on Thursday. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52 week low of $63.88 and a 52 week high of $89.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.37, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $84.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $79.00.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.01. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.45% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The firm had revenue of $988.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $985.89 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.86 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.59%.

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.