Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Has $18.44 Million Stock Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 362.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 270,285 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 211,866 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned 0.19% of A. O. Smith worth $18,436,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AOS. Allianz SE bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,457,000. Allstate Corp acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter worth approximately $232,000. DnB Asset Management AS boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 31,651 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,159,000 after acquiring an additional 934 shares during the last quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC increased its position in A. O. Smith by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 65,081 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,439,000 after purchasing an additional 3,022 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 20.3% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,368,443 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $93,341,000 after purchasing an additional 231,259 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 2.7 %

NYSE AOS opened at $61.92 on Friday. 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 $61.89 and a 52 week high of $92.45. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $66.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.47. The company has a market cap of $8.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.26.

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

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price objective 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. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. 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 note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Saturday, March 22nd. 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 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 $27,507.35. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,749 shares in the company, valued at $180,471.85. This represents a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $67,356.90. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,889 shares in the company, 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 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.