Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys Shares of 56,172 A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position 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 institutional investor purchased 56,172 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $3,837,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC increased its position in A. O. Smith by 180.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 125,384 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $11,263,000 after buying an additional 80,632 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 72.8% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 14,003 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,258,000 after purchasing an additional 5,900 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 22,255 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,999,000 after buying an additional 1,431 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 84.5% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 61,239 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,501,000 after acquiring an additional 28,045 shares during the period. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in A. O. Smith in the third quarter valued at about $524,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group reduced 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. Oppenheimer lowered their target price 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. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $78.00.

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

In other A. O. Smith news, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $67,356.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,889 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $583,562.85. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 1.0 %

AOS stock traded down $0.67 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $64.53. The company had a trading volume of 274,578 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,116,269. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $65.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $71.09. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52 week low of $58.83 and a 52 week high of $92.45. The company has a market capitalization of $9.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.77, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.26.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. A. O. Smith's payout ratio is 37.47%.

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.