Legal & General Group Plc Has $37.38 Million Stock Holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Legal & General Group Plc lowered its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 31.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 548,059 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 252,134 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.38% of A. O. Smith worth $37,383,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Greenleaf Trust boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 5,873 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $401,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 34,838 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,376,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.9% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 6,785 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $609,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 3,454 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $236,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the period. Finally, United Asset Strategies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 9,198 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $627,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on AOS. StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on A. O. Smith from $84.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered 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. Four 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, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $76.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the company's 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 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 transaction of $67,356.90. Following the sale, 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 owned by corporate insiders.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

NYSE AOS traded up $0.23 on Friday, hitting $63.09. 1,376,024 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,123,381. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52 week low of $58.83 and a 52 week high of $92.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $65.55 and a 200-day moving average of $70.80. 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 stock has a market cap of $9.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.26.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last issued its 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%. Analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.47%.

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.