Russell Investments Group Ltd. Boosts Stock Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 30.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 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 SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AOS. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its position in A. O. Smith by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 55,605 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,677,000 after purchasing an additional 1,291 shares in the last quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 21.7% during the third quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 22,465 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,486,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 9.7% during the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 19,644 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,299,000 after acquiring an additional 1,730 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 13.8% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 118,013 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $7,804,000 after purchasing an additional 14,314 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 628.0% in the 3rd quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 597 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 value of $836,990.70. Following the transaction, 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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total transaction of $836,990.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 9,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at $800,176.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Idelle K. Wolf sold 814 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 46,140 shares in the company, valued at $3,691,200. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 95,631 shares of company stock worth $8,042,535 in the last three months. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. Jefferies Financial Group increased 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on A. O. Smith from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $90.67.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of A. O. Smith stock traded up $0.76 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $84.31. The company had a trading volume of 558,240 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,174,919. The firm has a market cap of $12.41 billion, a PE ratio of 21.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.27. A. O. Smith Co. has a one year low of $63.88 and a one year high of $89.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $86.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $80.30.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.01. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 30.94% and a net margin of 14.94%. The business had revenue of $978.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $995.91 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.94 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.16%.

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.