Distillate Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 222,610 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $15,184,000. Distillate Capital Partners LLC owned approximately 0.15% of A. O. Smith as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $96,180,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 26.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,704,295 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $320,880,000 after buying an additional 995,043 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 40.1% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,648,825 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $112,467,000 after acquiring an additional 471,990 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in A. O. Smith by 20.3% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,368,443 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $93,341,000 after acquiring an additional 231,259 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 362.7% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 270,285 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $18,436,000 after acquiring an additional 211,866 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of A. O. Smith 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 owns 8,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $583,562.85. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the company's 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 sale, the senior vice president now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
AOS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock 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 note on Friday, January 31st. 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 report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $76.50.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on A. O. Smith
A. O. Smith Stock Performance
A. O. Smith stock traded up $0.23 during trading on Thursday, reaching $63.09. The company had a trading volume of 1,376,024 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,125,616. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52 week low of $58.83 and a 52 week high of $92.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.26. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $65.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.98.
A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.47%.
A. O. Smith Company Profile
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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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