Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co Acquires New Position in A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Key Points

• Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co acquired a newly reported stake of 4,382 shares in A. O. Smith Corporation, valued at approximately $286,000, during the first quarter, according to their recent 13F filing.
• A. O. Smith's quarterly earnings report revealed an EPS of $1.07, exceeding analysts' estimates, despite a 1.3% decrease in revenue year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.34, yielding 1.9%, and has set its FY 2025 guidance for EPS between 3.700 and 3.900.

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,382 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $286,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AOS. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in A. O. Smith during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. National Pension Service grew its position in A. O. Smith by 74.8% during the 1st 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 last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 69.9% during the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 491 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 161.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

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 shares were sold at an average price of $71.26, for a total value of $1,581,972.00. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on AOS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on A. O. Smith from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $76.00 price objective (up previously from $74.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $77.43.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

AOS stock traded up $0.32 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $72.89. The stock had a trading volume of 180,534 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,498,683. A. O. Smith Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $58.83 and a fifty-two week high of $92.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.21 billion, a PE ratio of 20.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 last year, the firm posted $1.06 EPS. A. O. Smith has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.700-3.900 EPS. Analysts predict that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid 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 yield of 1.9%. A. O. Smith's payout ratio is 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.