California State Teachers Retirement System Sells 7,233 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

California State Teachers Retirement System cut its holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 186,038 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 7,233 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.13% of A. O. Smith worth $12,690,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AOS. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,645 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $590,000 after buying an additional 817 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 5,873 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $401,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Willis Investment Counsel boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 204,470 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $13,947,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 777,254 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $53,016,000 after buying an additional 21,503 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Advocates Investment Management boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 34.0% during the fourth quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 4,949 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $338,000 after buying an additional 1,255 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Trading Up 0.9%

A. O. Smith stock traded up $0.59 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $64.59. 413,074 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,231,282. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $65.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.87. A. O. Smith Co. has a twelve month low of $58.83 and a twelve month high of $92.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.18 billion, a PE ratio of 17.79, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.28.

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

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. A. O. Smith's payout ratio is presently 37.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AOS. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Citigroup lowered their price target on A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $76.17.

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.