Impax Asset Management Group plc Reduces Stock Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Impax Asset Management Group plc cut its stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,102,128 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 31,472 shares during the quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc owned about 2.14% of A. O. Smith worth $211,596,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AOS. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter worth about $43,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the third quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in A. O. Smith by 19.8% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 812 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $82,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group decreased their target price on A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup dropped their price target on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their target price 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.86.

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

In other news, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $27,507.35. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $180,471.85. This represents a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of A. O. Smith 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $583,562.85. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

NYSE:AOS opened at $65.99 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.18, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.17. The business has a 50 day moving average of $68.44 and a 200 day moving average of $75.32. 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 1-year low of $64.55 and a 1-year high of $92.44.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.06%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.47%.

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.