CCM Investment Group LLC Buys New Shares in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS)

Key Points

• CCM Investment Group LLC recently invested $754,000 to acquire 11,485 shares of A. O. Smith Corporation during the first quarter, contributing to the institutional ownership of 76.10% in the company.
• Analysts have varied views on A. O. Smith, with price targets ranging from $65.00 to $88.00, and an average rating of "Hold" for the stock.
• A. O. Smith announced a quarterly dividend of $0.34 per share, reflecting a 1.9% dividend yield, with payment scheduled for August 15th.

CCM Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 11,485 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $754,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $382,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $1,020,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 69.9% in 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. Finally, RMR Wealth Builders lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 4,898 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 completion of the transaction, the chairman directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AOS shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $76.00 price target (up from $74.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on A. O. Smith from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on A. O. Smith in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $77.43.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of A. O. Smith stock traded down $1.08 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $72.57. 908,697 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,563,371. A. O. Smith Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $58.83 and a fifty-two week high of $92.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.17 billion, a PE ratio of 20.21, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.22. The business has a 50-day moving average of $68.02 and a 200 day moving average of $66.81.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.06 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.88%.

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.