A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System reduced its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 7.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 205,817 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 16,326 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.14% of A. O. Smith worth $14,039,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter worth $60,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter valued at about $66,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 40.0% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,299 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter worth about $123,000. Finally, Mutual Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter worth about $209,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the 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 owns 8,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $583,562.85. This represents a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, 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. 0.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE:AOS opened at $61.92 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $66.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.06, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.26. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1 year low of $61.89 and a 1 year 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.

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

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AOS. StockNews.com upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group decreased their price objective on A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup decreased their price target on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $80.86.

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.