California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 3,594 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

California Public Employees Retirement System trimmed its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 231,160 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,594 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $19,057,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of AOS. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 94.4% in the third quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 548,939 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,350,000 after acquiring an additional 266,558 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 460.9% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 264,514 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $17,492,000 after purchasing an additional 217,356 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 30.3% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 769,447 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $50,884,000 after purchasing an additional 178,707 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 63.8% during the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 454,446 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,053,000 after purchasing an additional 176,987 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 4.6% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,038,837 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $200,958,000 after buying an additional 133,339 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total value of $836,990.70. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 9,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $800,176.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total value of $836,990.70. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 9,455 shares in the company, valued at $800,176.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Idelle K. Wolf sold 814 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $65,120.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 46,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,691,200. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 95,631 shares of company stock valued at $8,042,535 over the last three months. 2.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AOS shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on A. O. Smith from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com cut A. O. Smith from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.67.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

AOS stock opened at $84.31 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $85.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.09. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52 week low of $63.88 and a 52 week high of $89.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.25.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.01. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 30.94% and a net margin of 14.94%. The company had revenue of $978.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $995.91 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.94 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is presently 33.16%.

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.