Vontobel Holding Ltd. Sells 482,898 Shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. reduced its position in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) by 96.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,627 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 482,898 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $1,021,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 27,825 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,898,000 after purchasing an additional 1,834 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 13,831 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $903,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter valued at about $7,015,000. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 48,004 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,138,000 after acquiring an additional 2,249 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on AOS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on A. O. Smith in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup cut their price target on A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $75.29.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

AOS opened at $67.92 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $66.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.60. The firm has a market cap of $9.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.97, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.20. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 1-year low of $58.83 and a 1-year high of $92.45.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.05. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.39% and a net margin of 13.74%. The firm had revenue of $963.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $950.56 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.00 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were given a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.99%.

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.