Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec Sells 226,740 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec decreased its position in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 29.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 534,670 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 226,740 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec owned approximately 0.37% of A. O. Smith worth $36,470,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Voleon Capital Management LP bought a new stake in A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $215,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 423,137 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $28,862,000 after acquiring an additional 44,403 shares during the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 10,583 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $722,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in A. O. Smith by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,475,503 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $100,644,000 after acquiring an additional 266,297 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter valued at about $479,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 value of $27,507.35. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,471.85. The trade was a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 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 transaction of $67,356.90. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,889 shares in the company, valued at $583,562.85. This represents a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on AOS. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective 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, April 30th. 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 report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Four research 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 currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $76.17.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

NYSE:AOS traded up $1.55 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $68.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 350,588 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,141,217. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.96. A. O. Smith Co. has a fifty-two week low of $58.83 and a fifty-two week high of $92.45. The firm's 50 day moving average is $65.43 and its 200-day moving average is $69.00. The firm has a market cap of $9.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.28.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.05. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 13.98%. The company had revenue of $963.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $950.56 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.00 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.99%.

About A. O. Smith

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.