Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Has $19.92 Million Stock Holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 292,101 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,366 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.20% of A. O. Smith worth $19,924,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Financial Advocates Investment Management grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 34.0% in the fourth quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 4,949 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 1,255 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 777,254 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $53,016,000 after buying an additional 21,503 shares during the last quarter. Willis Investment Counsel lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 204,470 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $13,947,000 after buying an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 5,873 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $401,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 26.9% in the fourth quarter. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC now owns 123,764 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $8,442,000 after buying an additional 26,257 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

In other A. O. Smith news, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $27,507.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,749 shares of the company's stock, valued at $180,471.85. This represents a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $67,356.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,889 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $583,562.85. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

AOS traded up $0.22 during trading on Friday, hitting $66.22. The stock had a trading volume of 1,719,948 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,574,804. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $69.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.86. The firm has a market cap of $9.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.96. A. O. Smith Co. has a one year low of $64.55 and a one year high of $92.44.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last released 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.77 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AOS shares. Citigroup cut their price objective on 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Saturday, February 1st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, DA Davidson cut A. O. Smith from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average 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.