ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. Takes $653,000 Position in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS)

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. has invested approximately $653,000 in A. O. Smith Corporation, acquiring nearly 10,000 shares of the company during the first quarter.
• Institutional investors collectively own 76.10% of A. O. Smith's stock, with Vanguard Group Inc. raising its stake by 2.0% to hold over 14 million shares.
• Analysts generally hold a "hold" rating for A. O. Smith, with a consensus price target of $77.43 and some firms issuing target prices as high as $88.00.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 9,995 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $653,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in A. O. Smith by 2.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,404,259 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $941,462,000 after purchasing an additional 286,316 shares in the last quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 11.3% in the 1st quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 6,324 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $413,000 after buying an additional 640 shares in the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 1st quarter worth approximately $277,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 26.2% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 29,411 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,922,000 after buying an additional 6,103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFG Advisory LLC grew its position in A. O. Smith by 4.3% in the first quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 24,551 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,605,000 after acquiring an additional 1,023 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of AOS traded up $2.33 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $73.66. 1,250,011 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,567,552. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $67.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.76. The company has a market cap of $10.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.52, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.22. A. O. Smith Corporation has a twelve month low of $58.83 and a twelve month high of $92.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.10. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.42% and a net margin of 13.68%. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $997.89 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.06 earnings per share. A. O. Smith's revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.88%.

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

In other A. O. Smith news, Chairman Kevin J. Wheeler sold 22,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.26, for a total value of $1,581,972.00. Following the sale, the chairman owned 100,647 shares in the company, valued at $7,172,105.22. This trade represents a 18.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AOS shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $76.00 target price (up previously from $74.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Monday, July 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $77.43.

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.