Blue Rock Wealth Management LLC Makes New $261,000 Investment in A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Key Points

• Blue Rock Wealth Management LLC has acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith Corporation, purchasing 4,000 shares valued at approximately $261,000 during the first quarter.
• A. O. Smith's stock ratings have seen fluctuations, with Wall Street Zen upgrading it to "buy" and Stifel Nicolaus raising the price target from $78 to $81.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.34 per share, reflecting a 1.9% yield, with a payout ratio of 37.88% as of the end of July.

Blue Rock Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 4,000 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $261,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. National Pension Service raised its position in A. O. Smith by 74.8% in the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 458 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC raised its position in A. O. Smith by 69.9% in the first 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 period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its position in 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 valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the period. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith in the first quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $76.00 target price (up previously from $74.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Monday, July 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Saturday, August 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $77.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other A. O. Smith news, Chairman Kevin J. Wheeler sold 22,200 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.26, for a total value 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 approximately $7,172,105.22. The trade was a 18.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

A. O. Smith stock traded up $0.37 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $72.94. The company had a trading volume of 246,913 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,499,090. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 1 year low of $58.83 and a 1 year high of $92.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $10.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.25. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $71.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.67.

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

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.88%.

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.