Schroder Investment Management Group Increases Stock Position in A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Key Points

• Schroder Investment Management Group increased its position in A. O. Smith by 88.8% in Q3, buying an additional 137,570 shares to hold 292,516 shares (about 0.21% of the company) valued at roughly $21.28 million.
• Institutional investors own about 76.1% of AOS, led by Vanguard (≈14.41 million shares, ~$1.06 billion), while other large managers like American Century and Impax also meaningfully raised their stakes in Q3.
• Analysts have an average rating of "Hold" with a consensus price target of $77; the stock trades at a P/E of ~17.2, market cap ~ $9.2 billion, and yields about 2.2%.

Schroder Investment Management Group raised its position in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 88.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 292,516 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 137,570 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group owned about 0.21% of A. O. Smith worth $21,281,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 1.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,412,842 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,058,047,000 after purchasing an additional 182,876 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.4% in the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 4,850,158 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $356,050,000 after buying an additional 157,856 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 54.2% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,208,831 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $235,560,000 after buying an additional 1,128,543 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,508,947 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $184,182,000 after buying an additional 109,654 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,871,694 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $137,393,000 after buying an additional 38,694 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on AOS shares. Robert W. Baird set a $77.00 target price on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $78.00 price target (up from $72.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Friday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $69.00 price objective on A. O. Smith and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $77.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Darrell W. Schuh sold 1,104 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.39, for a total value of $82,126.56. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 2,201 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $163,732.39. The trade was a 33.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AOS opened at $66.50 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $74.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $70.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.33. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 52 week low of $58.83 and a 52 week high of $81.86.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.06. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 29.51% and a net margin of 14.26%.The firm had revenue of $912.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $928.97 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.85 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th were issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. A. O. Smith's payout ratio is 37.31%.

About A. O. Smith

A. O. Smith Corporation, based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a leading manufacturer of water heating and water treatment products for residential and commercial applications. Since its founding in 1874, the company has built a reputation for producing reliable, energy-efficient water heaters, boilers and pressure vessels. Its product portfolio encompasses gas, electric, condensing and tankless water heaters, as well as specialty boilers designed to meet a variety of building and industrial needs.

The company operates through two primary segments: North America and Asia.

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