Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Sells 25,573 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. trimmed its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 17.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 124,632 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 25,573 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. owned about 0.09% of A. O. Smith worth $8,501,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter valued at about $96,180,000. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 40.1% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,648,825 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $112,467,000 after buying an additional 471,990 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its position in A. O. Smith by 92.4% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 761,410 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $68,397,000 after buying an additional 365,710 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,721,581 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $693,630,000 after acquiring an additional 299,766 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 20.3% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,368,443 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $93,341,000 after acquiring an additional 231,259 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AOS traded down $2.39 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $63.73. 425,661 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,086,931. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12 month low of $63.07 and a 12 month high of $92.45. The company's 50 day moving average price is $66.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.67. 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 has a market capitalization of $9.17 billion, a PE ratio of 17.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.26.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.05). A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 13.98%. As a group, analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 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 Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith's payout ratio is 37.47%.

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

In related news, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $27,507.35. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,749 shares of the company's stock, valued at $180,471.85. This represents a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $67,356.90. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,889 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $583,562.85. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AOS has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group cut 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. StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Saturday, March 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $80.86.

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.