Russell Investments Group Ltd. Acquires 39,527 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 30.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 170,567 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 39,527 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.11% of A. O. Smith worth $14,060,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 28.7% in the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 916 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Equity Partners acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter worth approximately $209,000. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,568 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $294,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares in the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 71.3% in the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 6,991 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $576,000 after purchasing an additional 2,911 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter worth approximately $147,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

NYSE:AOS opened at $84.31 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $85.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $80.22. A. O. Smith Co. has a fifty-two week low of $63.88 and a fifty-two week high of $89.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.41 billion, a PE ratio of 21.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.65.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.01. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.94% and a return on equity of 30.94%. The firm had revenue of $978.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $995.91 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.94 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AOS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on A. O. Smith from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on A. O. Smith from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.67.

Insider Activity at A. O. Smith

In other news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total transaction of $836,990.70. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 9,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $800,176.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Idelle K. Wolf sold 814 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $65,120.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 46,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,691,200. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total value of $836,990.70. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 9,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $800,176.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 95,631 shares of company stock valued at $8,042,535. 2.70% of the stock is 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.