Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Raises Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,231,084 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,305 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $83,972,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AOS. Huntington National Bank raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 19.8% during 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 during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 5.1% during 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 during the period. Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 4.3% during 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 during the period. Claro Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 2.2% during 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 during the period. Finally, Greenleaf Trust raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.3% during 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

In related news, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $27,507.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $180,471.85. The trade was a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of A. O. Smith 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 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 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 Stock Performance

A. O. Smith stock opened at $69.68 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $67.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.29. A. O. Smith Co. has a twelve month low of $64.55 and a twelve month high of $92.44. 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 company has a market cap of $10.03 billion, a PE ratio of 19.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus reduced 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 report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group reduced 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 report on Friday, January 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.86.

About A. O. Smith

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.