Quarry LP Cuts Stake in A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Key Points

• Quarry LP reduced its stake in A. O. Smith Corporation by 59.7%, now holding only 2,834 shares, valued at approximately $185,000.
• In the latest quarter, other notable institutional investors have increased their stakes, including BNP Paribas Financial Markets, which lifted its holdings by 65.4%.
• A. O. Smith recently reported better-than-expected earnings, with $1.07 EPS for the quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates of $0.97.

Quarry LP lessened its stake in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 59.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,834 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 4,194 shares during the period. Quarry LP's holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $185,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in A. O. Smith by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,404,259 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $941,462,000 after acquiring an additional 286,316 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 67.3% during the 1st quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 5,188,561 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $339,124,000 after buying an additional 2,086,433 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,011,496 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $327,551,000 after buying an additional 307,201 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,444,338 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $166,728,000 after buying an additional 236,880 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 35.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,670,567 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $109,187,000 after buying an additional 438,291 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company's stock.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AOS traded up $0.98 during trading on Friday, hitting $73.62. 1,445,124 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 978,142. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $70.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.43. The company has a market cap of $10.32 billion, a PE ratio of 20.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 12-month low of $58.83 and a 12-month high of $92.06.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $997.89 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.06 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. A. O. Smith has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.700-3.900 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on AOS. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on A. O. Smith from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Saturday, August 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on A. O. Smith in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $76.00 target price (up from $74.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Monday, July 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $77.43.

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

In related 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 in the company, valued at approximately $7,172,105.22. This trade represents a 18.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

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.