Select Equity Group L.P. Has $228.01 Million Stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Select Equity Group L.P. decreased its holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 20.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,342,818 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 877,969 shares during the quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. owned 2.31% of A. O. Smith worth $228,014,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in A. O. Smith by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,231,084 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $83,972,000 after buying an additional 12,305 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in A. O. Smith by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 27,825 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,898,000 after buying an additional 1,834 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in A. O. Smith by 124.5% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,694 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $457,000 after purchasing an additional 3,712 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,015,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in A. O. Smith by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 122,726 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $8,371,000 after purchasing an additional 17,442 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Saturday, May 10th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $76.17.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of A. O. Smith stock traded down $0.93 on Tuesday, hitting $69.58. 947,618 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,165,492. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $65.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12-month low of $58.83 and a 12-month high of $92.45. The company has a market cap of $9.89 billion, a PE ratio of 19.17, 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 results 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. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 28.87%. The business had revenue of $963.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $950.56 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.00 EPS. A. O. Smith's revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date was 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.