Natixis Advisors L.P. Has $14.23 Million Stock Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Natixis Advisors L.P. lifted its holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 15.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 172,570 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,496 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. owned 0.12% of A. O. Smith worth $14,226,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AOS. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 36.1% in the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 712 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 39.2% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,203 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 25.5% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 961 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in A. O. Smith by 52.4% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,506 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $122,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 31.4% in the fourth quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,597 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $132,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AOS opened at $85.15 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $86.10 and its 200-day moving average is $80.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.49 billion, a PE ratio of 22.06, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.27. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1-year low of $63.88 and a 1-year high of $89.96.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.01. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.94% and a return on equity of 30.94%. The company had revenue of $978.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $995.91 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.94 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is 33.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at A. O. Smith

In other A. O. Smith news, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 24,669 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.02, for a total transaction of $2,048,020.38. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 56,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,728,072.02. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 24,669 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.02, for a total value of $2,048,020.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 56,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,728,072.02. 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 9,890 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total transaction of $836,990.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 9,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $800,176.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 95,631 shares of company stock valued at $8,042,535. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AOS shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of A. O. Smith from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on A. O. Smith from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.67.

A. O. Smith 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.