Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Cuts Holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lessened its stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 23,952 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,300 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $1,634,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 812 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 3,992 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $359,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 7,967 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $716,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 5,873 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of AOS opened at $66.18 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. A. O. Smith Co. has a twelve month low of $64.55 and a twelve month high of $92.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.23, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.17. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.06.

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, research analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The business 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AOS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of 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. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $27,507.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,749 shares in the company, valued at $180,471.85. This trade represents a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 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 $67,356.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $583,562.85. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.70% 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.