Korea Investment CORP Purchases 47,200 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Korea Investment CORP lifted its position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 72.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 112,505 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 47,200 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $7,674,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AOS. Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 3,992 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $359,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 5,873 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 2.0% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 34,838 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,376,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in A. O. Smith by 3.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $180,471.85. The trade was a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 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 $67,356.90. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $583,562.85. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on AOS shares. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Saturday, March 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group dropped their price target on A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.86.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of A. O. Smith stock opened at $65.33 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $9.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.55. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $67.16 and its 200 day moving average is $72.82. A. O. Smith Co. has a one year low of $64.55 and a one year high of $92.45.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share 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 anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.47%.

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.