Achmea Investment Management B.V. lowered its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 18.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 132,931 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 30,793 shares during the period. Achmea Investment Management B.V. owned 0.09% of A. O. Smith worth $9,067,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AOS. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 9.4% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 25,991 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,335,000 after buying an additional 2,236 shares during the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 286,735 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $25,757,000 after acquiring an additional 13,010 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 98,594 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $8,857,000 after acquiring an additional 684 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,176,835 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $105,715,000 after acquiring an additional 21,094 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several research firms have recently issued reports on AOS. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group decreased their price objective 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. StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $80.86.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on A. O. Smith
Insider Buying and Selling
In other news, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 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 transaction of $27,507.35. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,471.85. This trade represents a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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 transaction of $67,356.90. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $583,562.85. This represents a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
A. O. Smith Price Performance
AOS stock traded up $0.13 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $67.62. The company had a trading volume of 1,032,317 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,013,125. The company has a market capitalization of $9.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12-month low of $64.55 and a 12-month high of $92.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $67.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.74.
A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.
A. O. Smith Announces Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio is 37.47%.
About A. O. Smith
(
Free Report)
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.
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