A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) Shares Bought by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

Key Points

• PNC Financial Services Group increased its stake in A. O. Smith Corporation by 26.2%, acquiring an additional 6,103 shares, which brings their total holdings to 29,411 shares valued at approximately $1.92 million.
• A. O. Smith is set to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.34 on August 15th, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 1.9% and a dividend payout ratio of 37.88%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on A. O. Smith, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and target prices ranging from $65.00 to $82.00, indicating ongoing market interest but uncertainty in its performance.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 26.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,411 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 6,103 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.'s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $1,922,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. TCTC Holdings LLC grew its position in A. O. Smith by 69.9% during the 1st 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. Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 1st quarter valued at $72,000. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 22.1% in the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,181 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the period. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter valued at $84,000. Finally, South Dakota Investment Council acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 1st quarter valued at $92,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $76.00 target price (up from $74.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $77.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other A. O. Smith news, Chairman Kevin J. Wheeler sold 22,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.26, for a total transaction of $1,581,972.00. Following the sale, the chairman owned 100,647 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,172,105.22. This trade represents a 18.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 1.2%

AOS stock traded up $0.85 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $71.38. 946,079 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,676,029. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.65. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 1-year low of $58.83 and a 1-year high of $92.06. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $67.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.76. The company has a market cap of $10.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.22.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $997.89 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.06 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.