PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Buys 1,018 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,308 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,018 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $1,590,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 4.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,721,581 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $693,630,000 after buying an additional 299,766 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,586,905 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $321,348,000 after purchasing an additional 52,593 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,302,659 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $206,848,000 after purchasing an additional 87,458 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 40.1% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,648,825 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $112,467,000 after buying an additional 471,990 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in A. O. Smith by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,231,084 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $83,972,000 after purchasing an additional 12,305 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AOS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group decreased their target price on 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. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on 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. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.86.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AOS opened at $66.91 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.63 billion, a PE ratio of 18.43, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $67.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $73.90. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1-year low of $64.55 and a 1-year high of $92.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were given a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling at A. O. Smith

In related news, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $27,507.35. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $180,471.85. This trade represents a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value 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 trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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.