A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Shares Sold by Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.

Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. lowered its holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 2.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 48,500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,200 shares during the period. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $3,966,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AOS. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 11.3% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 225,930 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $20,212,000 after acquiring an additional 22,859 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its position in A. O. Smith by 37.2% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 623,357 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $51,390,000 after purchasing an additional 168,911 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 39.7% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 79,075 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,519,000 after buying an additional 22,483 shares during the period. Cim LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter worth about $3,165,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 222.0% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 25,255 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,259,000 after buying an additional 17,411 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other A. O. Smith news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total transaction of $1,191,105.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,399 shares in the company, valued at approximately $194,319. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

AOS traded up $1.41 during trading on Friday, hitting $82.54. 562,529 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 946,753. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1-year low of $64.14 and a 1-year high of $92.44. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $82.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $84.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.38, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.15.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1 billion. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 31.04% and a net margin of 14.67%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.01 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Stifel Nicolaus raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $97.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on A. O. Smith from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.67.

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.