A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS Shares Bought by Boston Trust Walden Corp

Key Points

• Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its stake in A. O. Smith Corporation by 4.5%, now owning 822,774 shares valued at approximately $53.9 million.
• A. O. Smith reported $1.07 earnings per share in its latest quarter, surpassing analyst estimates, although revenue decreased by 1.3% year-over-year.
• The company plans to increase its quarterly dividend from $0.34 to $0.36, reflecting a 2.1% dividend yield, with the next payment scheduled for November 17th.

Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its position in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 4.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 822,774 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 35,256 shares during the quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned 0.58% of A. O. Smith worth $53,949,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AOS. Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 67.3% in the first quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 5,188,561 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $339,124,000 after purchasing an additional 2,086,433 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in A. O. Smith by 998.6% during the first 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 last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in A. O. Smith by 35.6% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,670,567 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $109,187,000 after purchasing an additional 438,291 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in A. O. Smith by 62.3% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,088,103 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $71,118,000 after purchasing an additional 417,667 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,211,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 0.1%

A. O. Smith stock opened at $67.70 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $9.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.86, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.30. 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 50-day moving average price is $72.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.42. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 52 week low of $58.83 and a 52 week high of $83.00.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $997.89 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.68% and a return on equity of 28.42%. The business's revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.06 earnings per share. 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 Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from A. O. Smith's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $76.00 price target (up from $74.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $77.43.

Insider Buying and Selling at A. O. Smith

In related news, Chairman Kevin J. Wheeler sold 22,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 100,647 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,172,105.22. This represents a 18.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AOS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.