Oxford Asset Management LLP Purchases Shares of 19,670 A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Oxford Asset Management LLP bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 19,670 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,342,000. A. O. Smith makes up 0.7% of Oxford Asset Management LLP's portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter worth approximately $96,180,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 26.8% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,704,295 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $320,880,000 after acquiring an additional 995,043 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 40.1% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 19.0% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,618,191 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $178,587,000 after acquiring an additional 417,595 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super purchased a new position in A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter valued at about $19,918,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

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 value of $27,507.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,749 shares in the company, valued at $180,471.85. This trade represents a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the business'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 $67,356.90. Following the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

NYSE AOS traded up $2.14 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $66.92. The company had a trading volume of 2,687,819 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,131,196. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. A. O. Smith Co. has a fifty-two week low of $58.83 and a fifty-two week high of $92.45. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.44. The firm has a market cap of $9.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.26.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $963.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $950.56 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 28.87%. A. O. Smith's quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.00 EPS. Equities 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.03%. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AOS. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group cut their price objective on A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup dropped their price target on A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased 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 report on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.