Amundi Raises Holdings in A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Key Points

• Amundi increased its stake in A. O. Smith Corporation by 9.4%, acquiring an additional 160,522 shares for a total of 1.32% ownership valued at approximately $121.24 million.
• A. O. Smith reported $1.07 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing expectations of $0.97, despite a 1.3% decline in revenue compared to the previous year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.34, resulting in an annual yield of 1.8% and a dividend payout ratio of 37.88%.

Amundi increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 9.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,872,658 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 160,522 shares during the period. Amundi owned 1.32% of A. O. Smith worth $121,240,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AOS. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,086,433 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted 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 in the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 1st quarter worth $74,180,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 242.8% during the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 627,282 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $42,787,000 after buying an additional 444,307 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 35.6% in 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 buying an additional 438,291 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Kevin J. Wheeler sold 22,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 2.6%

AOS traded up $1.89 on Thursday, hitting $74.38. 1,673,138 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 991,240. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $71.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. A. O. Smith Corporation has a twelve month low of $58.83 and a twelve month high of $92.06. The company has a market cap of $10.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.25.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $997.89 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.06 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly 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, equities analysts predict that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AOS shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on A. O. Smith from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Saturday, August 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $77.43.

A. O. Smith 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.