A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Holdings Decreased by Corebridge Financial Inc.

Corebridge Financial Inc. cut its position in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 6.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,078 shares during the quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc.’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $1,924,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AOS. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,117,943 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $962,985,000 after acquiring an additional 148,432 shares during the period. Stevens Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter worth approximately $214,000. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 74,433 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,077,000 after purchasing an additional 5,390 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter worth $2,578,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its position in A. O. Smith by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,402,497 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $95,664,000 after buying an additional 35,355 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

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

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

AOS opened at $66.21 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $66.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The company has a market capitalization of $9.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1-year low of $64.55 and a 1-year high of $92.45.

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

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on AOS shares. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a 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 for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Saturday, March 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.86.

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.