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

by · The Markets Daily

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund cut its position in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS – Free Report) by 8.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in A. O. Smith during the third quarter worth about $43,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in A. O. Smith in the third quarter worth about $55,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter worth about $60,000. Huntington National Bank raised its position in A. O. Smith by 19.8% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 812 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in A. O. Smith in the third quarter worth about $82,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

NYSE AOS opened at $66.18 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $68.20 and its 200-day moving average is $75.06. 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 $9.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.17. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12-month low of $64.55 and a 12-month high of $92.44.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS – Get Free Report) last posted its 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 return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 13.98%. Sell-side analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other A. O. Smith news, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 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 $27,507.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $180,471.85. The trade was a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 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 directly owns 8,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $583,562.85. This represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AOS has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group lowered 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. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.86.

Read Our Latest Research Report on AOS

A. O. Smith Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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