Bank of Nova Scotia Acquires 41,533 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Bank of Nova Scotia increased its stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 269.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 56,921 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 41,533 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $3,883,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AOS. Greenleaf Trust raised 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 purchasing an additional 188 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 34,838 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,376,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.9% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 6,785 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $609,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 3,454 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $236,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Finally, United Asset Strategies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 9,198 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $627,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $27,507.35. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,749 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $180,471.85. The trade was a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $67,356.90. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $583,562.85. The trade was 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 insiders.

A. O. Smith Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:AOS traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $63.09. 1,376,024 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,123,381. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.38, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a fifty day moving average of $65.55 and a 200 day moving average of $70.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.55. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12 month low of $58.83 and a 12 month high of $92.45.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 EPS 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%. On average, research analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AOS shares. Citigroup dropped their price objective on A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock 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 note on Friday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price target 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $76.50.

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.