UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC Increases Stake in A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Key Points

• UBS Asset Management increased its stake in A. O. Smith Corporation by 62.3%, owning approximately 0.77% of the company, valued at $71.1 million.
• A. O. Smith announced a quarterly dividend of $0.34 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.9%.
• The company reported $1.07 earnings per share in its latest quarterly earnings, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.97.

UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 62.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,088,103 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 417,667 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC owned 0.77% of A. O. Smith worth $71,118,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AOS. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC raised its position in A. O. Smith by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,847 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $382,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in A. O. Smith by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,532 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $363,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group raised its position in A. O. Smith by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group now owns 15,607 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,020,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service raised its position in A. O. Smith by 74.8% in the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 458 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 69.9% during the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 491 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. 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. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $76.00 price target (up previously from $74.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $77.43.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 0.1%

AOS stock traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $73.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 915,843 shares, compared to its average volume of 997,443. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.65. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.85. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 1 year low of $58.83 and a 1 year high of $92.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.35, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.25.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $997.89 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.42% and a net margin of 13.68%.The business's revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter 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, equities research analysts predict that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.88%.

Insider Activity at A. O. Smith

In other news, Chairman Kevin J. Wheeler sold 22,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.26, for a total transaction of $1,581,972.00. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

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.