Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Boosts Stock Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 20.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,368,443 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 231,259 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.94% of A. O. Smith worth $93,341,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith in the third quarter worth $43,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter worth about $55,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter worth about $60,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at about $82,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter valued at about $66,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other A. O. Smith news, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $27,507.35. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,749 shares of the company's stock, valued at $180,471.85. The trade was a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $67,356.90. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,889 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 currently owned by insiders.

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A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of A. O. Smith stock traded up $0.18 on Tuesday, hitting $65.54. 420,463 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,402,132. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $67.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.82. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12-month low of $64.55 and a 12-month high of $92.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a market cap of $9.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith's payout ratio is presently 37.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on AOS. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Saturday, March 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $80.86.

A. O. Smith 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.