Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Reduces Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lowered its stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 9.8% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 273,725 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 29,646 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $22,385,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AOS. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,991,142 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $164,150,000 after acquiring an additional 76,037 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 5.7% during the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,973,942 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $176,589,000 after purchasing an additional 106,329 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 5.5% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,326,586 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $118,677,000 after buying an additional 68,787 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter worth approximately $108,176,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in A. O. Smith by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,212,966 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $99,996,000 after buying an additional 15,698 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $194,319. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 2.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

A. O. Smith Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of AOS stock opened at $80.70 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.96. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1-year low of $64.14 and a 1-year high of $92.44. The company has a market cap of $11.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.91, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.07 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1 billion. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.67% and a return on equity of 31.04%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.01 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were given 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 1.59%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.