A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS Shares Purchased by Perpetual Ltd

Key Points

• Perpetual Ltd increased its stake in A. O. Smith Corporation by 34.8%, acquiring an additional 36,583 shares to bring its total holdings to 141,606 shares, valued at approximately $9.29 million.
• A. O. Smith received recent upgrades from analysts, with Wall Street Zen raising its rating from "hold" to "buy" and Oppenheimer increasing its price target from $82 to $88.
• Chairman Kevin J. Wheeler sold 22,200 shares of A. O. Smith stock for about $1.58 million, representing an 18.07% decrease in his position.

Perpetual Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 34.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 141,606 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 36,583 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd owned about 0.10% of A. O. Smith worth $9,285,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in A. O. Smith in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. National Pension Service boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 74.8% during 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 last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd acquired a new position in A. O. Smith in the first quarter valued at $48,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

In related news, Chairman Kevin J. Wheeler sold 22,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chairman directly owned 100,647 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,172,105.22. This represents a 18.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AOS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on A. O. Smith in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on A. O. Smith from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $77.43.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

AOS stock traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $72.22. The company had a trading volume of 84,003 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,483,005. 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 50 day moving average price of $71.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.92. A. O. Smith Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $58.83 and a fifty-two week high of $92.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.12 billion, a PE ratio of 20.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.25.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.10. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.42% and a net margin of 13.68%.The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $997.89 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.06 earnings per share. A. O. Smith'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. Analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio 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.