Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Trims Stake in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS)

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH reduced its position in A. O. Smith Corporation by 20.3%, owning 118,516 shares valued at approximately $7.75 million after selling 30,234 shares in the first quarter.
• A. O. Smith reported $1.07 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, but revenue declined by 1.3% from the previous year, totaling $1.01 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.34 per share, with a yield of 1.89%, to be paid on August 15th, signaling a stable payout ratio of 37.99%.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH reduced its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 20.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 118,516 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 30,234 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned 0.08% of A. O. Smith worth $7,746,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in A. O. Smith by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,117,943 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $962,985,000 after acquiring an additional 148,432 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 67.3% in the 1st quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 5,188,561 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $339,124,000 after buying an additional 2,086,433 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 26.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,704,295 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $320,880,000 after buying an additional 995,043 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,698,517 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $251,751,000 after buying an additional 111,612 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 19.0% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,618,191 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $178,587,000 after buying an additional 417,595 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on AOS. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Citigroup reduced their target price on A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on A. O. Smith from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on A. O. Smith in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $77.43.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AOS traded down $0.82 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $70.82. The company had a trading volume of 1,453,908 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,576,826. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market cap of $10.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.73, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.20. The company's 50-day moving average price is $66.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.82. A. O. Smith Corporation has a one year low of $58.83 and a one year high of $92.06.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $997.89 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.68% and a return on equity of 28.42%. A. O. Smith's revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.06 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. A. O. Smith's payout ratio is 37.88%.

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

In other A. O. Smith news, Chairman Kevin J. Wheeler sold 22,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.26, for a total transaction of $1,581,972.00. Following the sale, the chairman owned 100,647 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,172,105.22. The trade was a 18.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

A. O. Smith Company 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.