Royal Bank of Canada cut its position in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 42.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 306,824 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 222,485 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.22% of A. O. Smith worth $20,053,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AOS. Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 67.3% in the 1st quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 5,188,561 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $339,124,000 after purchasing an additional 2,086,433 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 period. Sarasin & Partners LLP bought a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 1st quarter worth about $74,180,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 242.8% during 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 acquiring an additional 444,307 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 35.6% in 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 buying an additional 438,291 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
AOS has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began 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 objective on the stock. 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. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $76.00 target price (up from $74.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $77.43.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on A. O. Smith
A. O. Smith Stock Performance
AOS traded down $1.70 during trading on Friday, reaching $72.60. 766,673 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,029,460. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $71.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.66. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 1 year low of $58.83 and a 1 year high of $92.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.03.
A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.10. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.42% and a net margin of 13.68%.The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $997.89 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.06 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. A. O. Smith has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.700-3.900 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.88%.
Insider Buying and Selling 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 value of $1,581,972.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 100,647 shares in the company, valued at $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 available through the SEC website. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
About A. O. Smith
(
Free Report)
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.
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