A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Shares Acquired by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 7.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 251,819 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,732 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.17% of A. O. Smith worth $17,275,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 4.3% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 3,992 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $359,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust increased its holdings in A. O. Smith by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 5,873 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its position in A. O. Smith by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 9,765 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $877,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in A. O. Smith by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 34,838 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,376,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 6,785 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $609,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AOS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup decreased 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. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, A. O. Smith currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $80.86.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 2.0 %

A. O. Smith stock opened at $65.59 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.07, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. 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 fifty-two week low of $64.55 and a fifty-two week high of $92.45. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.92.

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 net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 28.87%. Equities research analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.47%.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 value of $27,507.35. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,749 shares in the company, valued at $180,471.85. The trade was a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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 value of $67,356.90. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

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.