Bank of Nova Scotia Buys 41,533 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 269.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 56,921 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 41,533 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $3,883,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AOS. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,117,943 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $962,985,000 after acquiring an additional 148,432 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 26.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,704,295 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $320,880,000 after purchasing an additional 995,043 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,698,517 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $251,751,000 after buying an additional 111,612 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 40.1% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,648,825 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $112,467,000 after buying an additional 471,990 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $96,180,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of AOS opened at $64.46 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $9.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.76, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.26. A. O. Smith Co. has a twelve month low of $58.83 and a twelve month high of $92.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.55. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $65.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.39.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.05). A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 28.87%. On average, analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The business 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 2.11%. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is presently 37.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on AOS. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group cut 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. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.33.

Insider Activity at A. O. Smith

In other news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the company’s 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 owns 8,889 shares in the company, valued at $583,562.85. This represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $27,507.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,749 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

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.