Select Equity Group L.P. Acquires 400,304 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Select Equity Group L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 11.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,852,467 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 400,304 shares during the period. A. O. Smith accounts for about 1.2% of Select Equity Group L.P.’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Select Equity Group L.P. owned 2.64% of A. O. Smith worth $315,055,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 195.8% during the second quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 11,831 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $968,000 after acquiring an additional 7,831 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 39,357 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,219,000 after purchasing an additional 1,621 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in A. O. Smith by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 98,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,029,000 after purchasing an additional 807 shares during the period. MBB Public Markets I LLC bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 2nd quarter valued at about $764,000. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,046,798 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $167,387,000 after buying an additional 72,856 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

NYSE AOS opened at $89.31 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.70. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52-week low of $64.86 and a 52-week high of $92.44. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $81.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $84.00. The stock has a market cap of $13.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.14, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.15.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1 billion. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 31.04% and a net margin of 14.67%. The company’s revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.01 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AOS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $97.00 to $98.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other A. O. Smith news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total transaction of $1,191,105.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $194,319. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.70% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.