Retirement Systems of Alabama Reduces Holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Retirement Systems of Alabama trimmed its stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 27,070 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,101 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $2,232,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AOS. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 19,644 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,299,000 after buying an additional 1,730 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in A. O. Smith by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 162,170 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,724,000 after purchasing an additional 8,231 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in A. O. Smith by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,117,568 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $73,905,000 after purchasing an additional 22,648 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio grew its position in A. O. Smith by 25.6% during the 3rd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 26,357 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,742,000 after purchasing an additional 5,374 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its position in A. O. Smith by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 27,681 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,831,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on AOS shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other A. O. Smith news, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 24,669 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.02, for a total transaction of $2,048,020.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 56,951 shares in the company, valued at $4,728,072.02. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other A. O. Smith news, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 24,669 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.02, for a total transaction of $2,048,020.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 56,951 shares in the company, valued at $4,728,072.02. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total transaction of $836,990.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 9,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $800,176.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 94,817 shares of company stock worth $7,977,415. Insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 0.4 %

AOS stock opened at $85.58 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.65. A. O. Smith Co. has a one year low of $63.88 and a one year high of $89.96. The company has a fifty day moving average of $86.21 and a 200-day moving average of $80.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.55 billion, a PE ratio of 22.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.27.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.01. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.94% and a return on equity of 30.94%. The firm had revenue of $978.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $995.91 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.94 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.07 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.16%.

A. O. Smith 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.