International Assets Investment Management LLC Invests $2.64 Million in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 32,069 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $2,644,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,804,868 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $427,740,000 after purchasing an additional 225,462 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 4,101,386 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $271,225,000 after acquiring an additional 88,025 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,038,837 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $200,958,000 after acquiring an additional 133,339 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Schweiz AG lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 16.8% in the 1st quarter. Robeco Schweiz AG now owns 2,296,046 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $146,694,000 after acquiring an additional 329,539 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Macquarie Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 20.5% in the 1st quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 2,120,008 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $146,599,000 after acquiring an additional 360,409 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company's stock.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of AOS stock traded down $0.62 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $86.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,133,607 shares, compared to its average volume of 960,493. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $85.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $79.19. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52 week low of $63.88 and a 52 week high of $89.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.59. The company has a market cap of $12.67 billion, a PE ratio of 23.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.25.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.01. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 14.45%. The firm had revenue of $988.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $985.89 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.86 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AOS shares. StockNews.com cut A. O. Smith from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Citigroup raised their target price on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Thursday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $88.50.

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

In other news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total value of $836,990.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 9,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $800,176.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $800,176.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Idelle K. Wolf sold 814 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $65,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 46,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,691,200. 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. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company's stock.

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.