BLI Banque de Luxembourg Investments acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 97,600 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $6,637,000. BLI Banque de Luxembourg Investments owned approximately 0.07% of A. O. Smith at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AOS. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter valued at $60,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter worth about $66,000. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter worth approximately $84,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 40.0% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,299 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new stake in A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $123,000. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several brokerages have issued reports on AOS. StockNews.com raised A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Oppenheimer decreased their price target 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. UBS Group cut their price objective 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $76.17.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on A. O. Smith
A. O. Smith Stock Performance
Shares of AOS opened at $68.47 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $9.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.28. 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 12 month low of $58.83 and a 12 month high of $92.45. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $65.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $69.16.
A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. The business had revenue of $963.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $950.56 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.00 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 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 Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.99%.
Insider Buying and Selling at A. O. Smith
In related 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,749 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $180,471.85. This represents a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $67,356.90. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
About A. O. Smith
(
Free Report)
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.
Read More
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