Cresset Asset Management LLC Sells 15,875 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Cresset Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 15.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 86,649 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 15,875 shares during the quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC owned 0.06% of A. O. Smith worth $5,910,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Crestline Management LP raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 911.3% in the fourth quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 41,482 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,829,000 after purchasing an additional 37,380 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 27,307 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,863,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP acquired a new position in A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter worth $2,090,000. Caxton Associates LP raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 31,070 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,119,000 after acquiring an additional 2,385 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BLI Banque de Luxembourg Investments acquired a new position in A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter worth $6,637,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Saturday. UBS Group dropped their price objective on A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company 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 note on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $76.17.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AOS traded down $0.37 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $70.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 281,794 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,146,113. A. O. Smith Co. has a fifty-two week low of $58.83 and a fifty-two week high of $92.45. The company has a market capitalization of $9.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $65.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.69.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.05. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 13.98%. The company had revenue of $963.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $950.56 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.00 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio is 37.99%.

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.