A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Shares Sold by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp reduced its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 89.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 60,262 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 502,715 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $4,110,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AOS. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 40.0% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,299 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter worth $123,000. Mutual Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter valued at $209,000. Finally, Stevens Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter valued at $214,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of A. O. Smith stock opened at $65.33 on Tuesday. A. O. Smith Co. has a fifty-two week low of $64.55 and a fifty-two week high of $92.45. The business’s fifty day moving average is $67.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a market cap of $9.40 billion, a PE ratio of 18.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its earnings results 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%. Analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $27,507.35. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $180,471.85. The trade was a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 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 $67,356.90. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $583,562.85. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AOS shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group cut their price objective on A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Saturday, March 22nd. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.86.

A. O. Smith Company 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.