Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Has $3.69 Million Stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 44,773 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,932 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $3,691,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter valued at $2,644,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its position in A. O. Smith by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 714,691 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $58,919,000 after purchasing an additional 17,148 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its position in A. O. Smith by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 64,883 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,336,000 after purchasing an additional 9,278 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in A. O. Smith by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 34,243 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,823,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the period. Finally, Dumont & Blake Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter valued at $246,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

In other news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total transaction of $836,990.70. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 9,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $800,176.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total value of $836,990.70. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 9,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $800,176.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 60,258 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.51, for a total value of $5,092,403.58. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 56,951 shares in the company, valued at $4,812,929.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 95,631 shares of company stock worth $8,042,535 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 19th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. StockNews.com cut A. O. Smith from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.67.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AOS opened at $85.38 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $84.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $78.95. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1-year low of $63.88 and a 1-year high of $89.96. The stock has a market cap of $12.57 billion, a PE ratio of 23.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.25.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $988.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $985.89 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 14.45%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.86 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 34.59%.

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.