Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Reduces Stock Position in A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Key Points

• Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. reduced its stake in A. O. Smith Corporation by 82.7%, now holding 5,112 shares worth approximately $337,000.
• Other large investors have increased their positions, with National Pension Service raising its stake by 74.8% during the same period, resulting in a growing interest among institutional investors.
• A. O. Smith reported earnings of $1.07 per share, surpassing analyst estimates, and has set its FY 2025 EPS guidance between 3.700 and 3.900.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. lowered its position in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 82.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,112 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 24,406 shares during the quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.'s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $337,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. National Pension Service increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 74.8% in the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 458 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 69.9% in the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 491 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 161.7% in the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 539 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the first quarter worth $64,000. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the first quarter worth $72,000. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at A. O. Smith

In other 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 sale, the chairman owned 100,647 shares in the company, valued at $7,172,105.22. This represents a 18.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE AOS traded down $0.49 on Friday, reaching $71.13. 262,695 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,516,908. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 12 month low of $58.83 and a 12 month high of $92.06. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $69.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.19. The company has a market cap of $9.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

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

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AOS has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Stifel Nicolaus increased 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. Robert W. Baird increased 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $77.43.

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.