United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund Buys Shares of 4,100 A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund purchased a new position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 4,100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $280,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its position in A. O. Smith by 4.3% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 3,992 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $359,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 5,873 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $401,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its position in A. O. Smith by 2.0% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 9,765 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $877,000 after buying an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake 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 valued at $2,376,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the period. Finally, M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 6,785 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $609,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

A. O. Smith Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of AOS stock opened at $67.33 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12-month low of $64.55 and a 12-month high of $92.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $67.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.12.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its earnings results 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%. Research analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.47%.

Insider Activity at A. O. Smith

In related news, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,749 shares in the company, valued at $180,471.85. The trade was a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owns 8,889 shares in the company, valued at $583,562.85. The trade was 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 currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AOS. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective 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. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Saturday, March 22nd. Citigroup reduced their price objective 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. 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 research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.86.

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.