Sarasin & Partners LLP Buys 54,121 Shares of A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Key Points

• Sarasin & Partners LLP has increased its stake in A. O. Smith Corporation by 4.8%, now owning over 1.1 million shares valued at approximately $77.97 million.
• Several other institutional investors have also increased their positions in A. O. Smith, with a reported 76.10% of the stock currently owned by hedge funds and institutional investors.
• Analysts have set new price targets for A. O. Smith, with Oppenheimer increasing its target from $82.00 to $88.00, while maintaining an "outperform" rating.

Sarasin & Partners LLP lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 4.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,189,073 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 54,121 shares during the period. Sarasin & Partners LLP owned 0.84% of A. O. Smith worth $77,968,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 9.7% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 178,543 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $11,670,000 after acquiring an additional 15,769 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in A. O. Smith by 41.6% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,089 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $463,000 after purchasing an additional 2,084 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 75.8% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 402,039 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $26,277,000 after purchasing an additional 173,366 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 18.3% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 8,085 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $528,000 after buying an additional 1,251 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.3% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,532 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AOS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Saturday, September 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Robert W. Baird increased their target price 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. 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 price objective on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $77.43.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AOS traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $73.06. The company had a trading volume of 2,025,689 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,007,065. The stock has a market cap of $10.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.35, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.25. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 12 month low of $58.83 and a 12 month high of $92.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $71.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.91.

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 for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $997.89 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.06 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. A. O. Smith's payout ratio is currently 37.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 transaction of $1,581,972.00. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 100,647 shares in the company, valued at $7,172,105.22. This represents a 18.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

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.