United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund Takes $280,000 Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $280,000.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AOS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup lowered 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. UBS Group reduced their target price on A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a 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, StockNews.com raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 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 transaction of $67,356.90. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $583,562.85. This represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the business’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 value of $27,507.35. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $180,471.85. This trade represents a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of AOS stock opened at $67.33 on Thursday. A. O. Smith Co. has a fifty-two week low of $64.55 and a fifty-two week high of $92.45. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $67.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market cap of $9.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.55, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 13.98%. Analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.47%.

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.