Impax Asset Management Group plc Trims Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Impax Asset Management Group plc lessened its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,102,128 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 31,472 shares during the quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $211,596,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AOS. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter worth $1,631,000. ING Groep NV increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 191.2% during the fourth quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 46,713 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,186,000 after buying an additional 30,670 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 124.5% in the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,694 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $457,000 after buying an additional 3,712 shares in the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 4,691 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $320,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the period. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 10,419 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $711,000 after acquiring an additional 654 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AOS has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group decreased their target price on 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. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup cut 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 report on Monday, January 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $80.86.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of AOS stock opened at $65.99 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.17. 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 one year low of $64.55 and a one year high of $92.44. The company’s 50-day moving average is $68.44 and its 200 day moving average is $75.32.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.47%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the firm’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 completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.70% 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.