Fulton Bank N.A. Sells 181 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Fulton Bank N.A. lessened its position in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 6.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,540 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 181 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A.’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $227,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AOS. Norges Bank bought a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter worth approximately $108,176,000. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in A. O. Smith by 71.2% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,173,179 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $96,716,000 after acquiring an additional 487,742 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in A. O. Smith by 33.8% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,257,799 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $103,693,000 after acquiring an additional 317,389 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in A. O. Smith by 94.4% during the 3rd 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. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in A. O. Smith by 460.9% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 264,514 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $17,492,000 after acquiring an additional 217,356 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AOS. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target 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. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.67.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

AOS stock opened at $84.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.06. A. O. Smith Co. has a one year low of $64.14 and a one year high of $89.96. The stock has a market cap of $12.34 billion, a PE ratio of 21.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.18. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $84.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $83.14.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $978.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $995.91 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.94 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th were paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.