CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Has $4.11 Million Stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lessened its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 46.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 60,259 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 51,356 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co's holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $4,108,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AOS. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter valued at $60,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter worth about $66,000. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $84,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 40.0% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,299 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter worth approximately $123,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other A. O. Smith news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction 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 owns 8,889 shares in the company, valued at $583,562.85. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $27,507.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,749 shares of the company's stock, valued at $180,471.85. This trade represents a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of A. O. Smith stock traded down $0.14 during trading on Monday, hitting $64.85. 1,689,104 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,126,363. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.55. The stock has a market cap of $9.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.87, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $65.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.57. A. O. Smith Co. has a twelve month low of $58.83 and a twelve month high of $92.45.

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

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AOS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $84.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group lowered their price target on 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. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four 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 company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $76.50.

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.