A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Shares Acquired by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 19.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,618,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 417,595 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 1.81% of A. O. Smith worth $178,587,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AOS. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter worth approximately $96,180,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 26.8% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,704,295 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $320,880,000 after acquiring an additional 995,043 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 40.1% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,648,825 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $112,467,000 after acquiring an additional 471,990 shares during the last quarter. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter worth about $19,918,000. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 20.3% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,368,443 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $93,341,000 after purchasing an additional 231,259 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on AOS shares. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $84.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $67,356.90. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the business’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 $27,507.35. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,471.85. This trade represents a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

A. O. Smith Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of AOS stock opened at $63.09 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.08 billion, a PE ratio of 17.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.55. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1 year low of $58.83 and a 1 year high of $92.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $65.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.50.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.05). A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 13.98%. As a group, research analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 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.