Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Acquires 12,305 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,231,084 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,305 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.85% of A. O. Smith worth $83,972,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the third quarter valued at about $1,726,000. FORA Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the third quarter valued at about $730,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,586,905 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $321,348,000 after acquiring an additional 52,593 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 3,712 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WealthPlan Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 89.3% during the third quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 36,206 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,252,000 after acquiring an additional 17,079 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at A. O. Smith

In related news, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $27,507.35. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $180,471.85. This trade represents a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $67,356.90. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $583,562.85. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AOS opened at $69.68 on Tuesday. A. O. Smith Co. has a fifty-two week low of $64.55 and a fifty-two week high of $92.44. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.29. The company has a market capitalization of $10.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. 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 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 net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 28.87%. Analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is 37.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on AOS. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered 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. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group reduced their price target 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. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.