Vontobel Holding Ltd. Has $44.85 Million Stock Holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. decreased its position in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 499,277 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 8,668 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. owned approximately 0.34% of A. O. Smith worth $44,850,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Isthmus Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 214.9% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 157.2% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the period. Finally, ORG Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 665.0% in the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 612 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 532 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AOS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price target on A. O. Smith from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $97.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.67.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 0.4 %

AOS stock traded up $0.33 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $81.28. 215,863 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 950,256. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $82.74 and its 200-day moving average is $83.85. The company has a market cap of $11.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.87, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.07. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12 month low of $65.08 and a 12 month high of $92.44.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1 billion. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 31.04% and a net margin of 14.67%. A. O. Smith’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.01 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a $0.34 dividend. This is a boost from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.67%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.99%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total value of $1,191,105.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,399 shares in the company, valued at $194,319. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

A. O. Smith Company 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.