Capital Fund Management S.A. Boosts Holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Capital Fund Management S.A. lifted its position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 56.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 99,224 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 35,919 shares during the quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. owned about 0.07% of A. O. Smith worth $6,768,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the third quarter worth about $1,726,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,231,084 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $83,972,000 after buying an additional 12,305 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.5% during 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 buying an additional 52,593 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in A. O. Smith by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 27,825 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,898,000 after acquiring an additional 1,834 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in A. O. Smith by 124.5% during the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,694 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $457,000 after purchasing an additional 3,712 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of A. O. Smith stock opened at $64.46 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $65.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $71.39. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52-week low of $58.83 and a 52-week high of $92.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.26.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.05). A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 28.87%. Equities research analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.47%.

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

In other A. O. Smith news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $67,356.90. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,889 shares in the company, valued at $583,562.85. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $27,507.35. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,471.85. The trade was a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AOS. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.33.

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.