Select Equity Group L.P. Has $52.91 Million Position in A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Select Equity Group L.P. cut its position in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) by 75.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 809,461 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,533,357 shares during the period. Select Equity Group L.P. owned 0.57% of A. O. Smith worth $52,906,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 67.3% during the 1st quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 5,188,561 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $339,124,000 after buying an additional 2,086,433 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 998.6% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,348,247 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $88,121,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225,521 shares during the period. Sarasin & Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $74,180,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 242.8% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 627,282 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,787,000 after buying an additional 444,307 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in A. O. Smith by 35.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,670,567 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $109,187,000 after purchasing an additional 438,291 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

AOS opened at $73.62 on Friday. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $70.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.43. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 1-year low of $58.83 and a 1-year high of $92.06. The company has a market cap of $10.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.51, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.25.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.10. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.68% and a return on equity of 28.42%. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $997.89 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.06 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. A. O. Smith has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.700-3.900 EPS. On average, analysts expect that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.88%.

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

In related news, Chairman Kevin J. Wheeler sold 22,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chairman owned 100,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,172,105.22. This trade represents a 18.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on AOS shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $76.00 price objective (up from $74.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Saturday, August 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $77.43.

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.