ING Groep NV Has $3.19 Million Stock Holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

ING Groep NV increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 191.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 46,713 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 30,670 shares during the period. ING Groep NV’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $3,186,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 40.1% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,648,825 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $112,467,000 after acquiring an additional 471,990 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 92.4% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 761,410 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $68,397,000 after purchasing an additional 365,710 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,721,581 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $693,630,000 after purchasing an additional 299,766 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at $24,060,000. Finally, Vest Financial LLC increased its position in A. O. Smith by 24.0% during the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 769,325 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $52,476,000 after buying an additional 149,113 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,889 shares in the company, valued at $583,562.85. This represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the firm’s 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 $27,507.35. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,749 shares in the company, valued at $180,471.85. This represents a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of A. O. Smith stock opened at $65.99 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a market cap of $9.50 billion, a PE ratio of 18.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a 50 day moving average of $68.44 and a 200-day moving average of $75.35. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1-year low of $64.55 and a 1-year high of $92.44.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its earnings results 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AOS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $80.86.

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.