Southeast Asset Advisors LLC Sells 19,925 Shares of A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Key Points

• Southeast Asset Advisors LLC significantly reduced its stake in A. O. Smith Corporation by 66.2%, holding only 10,189 shares worth $666,000 after selling 19,925 shares in the first quarter.
• In contrast, other institutional investors such as Envestnet Asset Management Inc. and Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased their holdings in A. O. Smith by 75.8% and 41.6%, respectively.
• A. O. Smith announced a quarterly dividend of $0.34 per share, reflecting an annualized payout of $1.36 with a dividend yield of 1.8%.

Southeast Asset Advisors LLC lowered its stake in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 66.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,189 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 19,925 shares during the quarter. Southeast Asset Advisors LLC's holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $666,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cadence Bank lifted its position in A. O. Smith by 12.0% in the 1st quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 12,284 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $803,000 after acquiring an additional 1,321 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 68.0% in the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 4,138 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $270,000 after purchasing an additional 1,675 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 11.0% during the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,031,847 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $67,442,000 after buying an additional 102,050 shares during the period. Norinchukin Bank The boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 12.7% during the first quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 5,410 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $354,000 after buying an additional 609 shares during the period. Finally, United Asset Strategies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 4.0% during the first quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 9,569 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $625,000 after buying an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at A. O. Smith

In related news, Chairman Kevin J. Wheeler sold 22,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.26, for a total value of $1,581,972.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 100,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,172,105.22. This represents a 18.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on AOS shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on A. O. Smith from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted 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. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $76.00 price target (up from $74.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $77.43.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

NYSE:AOS traded down $0.74 on Thursday, hitting $71.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,081,365 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,524,619. A. O. Smith Corporation has a one year low of $58.83 and a one year high of $92.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.22. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $69.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.15. 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 (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.07 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $997.89 million. During the same quarter in the prior 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. Research analysts predict 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.