A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS Stock Holdings Increased by Level Four Advisory Services LLC

Key Points

• Level Four Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in A. O. Smith Corporation by 30.4%, owning 84,838 shares valued at $5,545,000 following additional purchases.
• A. O. Smith reported strong quarterly earnings, with an EPS of $1.07, surpassing analysts' expectations while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.34 per share.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Dimensional Fund Advisors and Raymond James Financial, have recently adjusted their holdings, illustrating growing institutional interest in A. O. Smith.

Level Four Advisory Services LLC increased its position in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 30.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 84,838 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 19,757 shares during the quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC owned about 0.06% of A. O. Smith worth $5,545,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. 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. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in A. O. Smith in the first quarter valued at about $64,000. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in A. O. Smith in the first quarter valued at about $72,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of NYSE AOS traded up $1.79 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $73.54. 674,080 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,211,578. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 52-week low of $58.83 and a 52-week high of $92.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.31 billion, a PE ratio of 20.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.65. The business's fifty day moving average price is $69.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.02.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for 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 company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.06 earnings per share. A. O. Smith has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.700-3.900 EPS. Analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. A. O. Smith's payout ratio is currently 37.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AOS has been the topic of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective 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. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on A. O. Smith from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen raised A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed 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 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 stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $77.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Kevin J. Wheeler sold 22,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chairman directly owned 100,647 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,172,105.22. The trade was a 18.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.