SBI Securities Co. Ltd. Purchases New Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 7,130 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $486,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the third quarter valued at $268,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter worth about $256,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 11.0% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 24,552 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,206,000 after buying an additional 2,435 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 6.7% in the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,638 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $956,000 after buying an additional 671 shares during the period. Finally, Northstar Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.1% in the third quarter. Northstar Asset Management Inc. now owns 118,568 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $10,651,000 after acquiring an additional 1,264 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AOS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Friday. UBS Group decreased their target price on A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, StockNews.com raised A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $80.86.

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A. O. Smith Stock Performance

A. O. Smith stock traded up $1.22 on Friday, reaching $69.45. 1,389,433 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,436,910. 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 twelve month low of $64.55 and a twelve month high of $92.44. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $67.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $74.55. The stock has a market cap of $10.00 billion, a PE ratio of 19.13, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 28.87%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. A. O. Smith's payout ratio is 37.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 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 transaction of $27,507.35. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,749 shares of the company's stock, valued at $180,471.85. This trade represents a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 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 $67,356.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly 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. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

A. O. Smith 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.