Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Grows Stock Holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 26.4% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 102,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,400 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $8,374,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 9,478 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $781,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 27,878 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,298,000 after acquiring an additional 768 shares in the last quarter. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $205,000. TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 39.7% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 79,075 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,519,000 after acquiring an additional 22,483 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J. W. Coons Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $218,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of A. O. Smith stock opened at $85.72 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $12.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.21, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.15. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $82.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $83.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. A. O. Smith Co. has a twelve month low of $64.14 and a twelve month high of $92.44.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by ($0.01). The firm 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.01 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors 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 yield of 1.49%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AOS. StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $97.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other A. O. Smith news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.