Norges Bank Purchases New Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,410,054 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $96,180,000. Norges Bank owned 0.97% of A. O. Smith as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AOS. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 180.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 125,384 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,263,000 after acquiring an additional 80,632 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 3,992 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $359,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 697,582 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $62,664,000 after purchasing an additional 15,447 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 5,149 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $463,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 6,682.4% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 77,387 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,951,000 after purchasing an additional 76,246 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on AOS. StockNews.com upgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Saturday, March 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, A. O. Smith currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $80.86.

Insider Activity

In other A. O. Smith news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value 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 represents a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,749 shares in the company, valued at $180,471.85. This represents a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

AOS opened at $65.58 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $67.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.71. The company has a market cap of $9.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52-week low of $64.55 and a 52-week high of $92.45.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is presently 37.47%.

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.