Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Has $20.36 Million Holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 24.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 246,964 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 48,325 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned 0.17% of A. O. Smith worth $20,360,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AOS. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter valued at $58,846,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 5,143.3% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 471,900 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,150,000 after acquiring an additional 462,900 shares during the period. Macquarie Group Ltd. raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 20.5% in the 1st quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 2,120,008 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $146,599,000 after acquiring an additional 360,409 shares during the period. Robeco Schweiz AG raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 16.8% in the 1st quarter. Robeco Schweiz AG now owns 2,296,046 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $146,694,000 after acquiring an additional 329,539 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 95.6% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 627,630 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,926,000 after acquiring an additional 306,822 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on AOS. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Citigroup lifted 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $88.50.

Insider Activity at A. O. Smith

In related news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total value of $836,990.70. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 9,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $800,176.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other A. O. Smith news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total value of $836,990.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 9,455 shares in the company, valued at $800,176.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 24,669 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.02, for a total transaction of $2,048,020.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 56,951 shares in the company, valued at $4,728,072.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 95,631 shares of company stock valued at $8,042,535 over the last quarter. 2.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

NYSE:AOS opened at $86.46 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $84.98 and its 200-day moving average is $79.00. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52-week low of $63.88 and a 52-week high of $89.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.59. The company has a market cap of $12.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.37, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.25.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $988.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $985.89 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.45% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The business’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.86 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is currently 34.59%.

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.