ST Germain D J Co. Inc. Raises Position in A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Key Points

• ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its position in A. O. Smith Corporation by 22.8%, now holding 71,734 shares valued at $4.7 million.
• The company's Chairman, Kevin J. Wheeler, sold 22,200 shares on July 30th, decreasing his ownership by 18.07% and valued at approximately $1.58 million.
• A. O. Smith reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.07 for its last quarter, exceeding expectations, although revenue was down 1.3% year-over-year.

ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its position in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 22.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 71,734 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 13,298 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. owned about 0.05% of A. O. Smith worth $4,704,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 63,845 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,355,000 after purchasing an additional 4,469 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter worth $10,146,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 52.9% during the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 3,496 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $255,000 after buying an additional 1,209 shares in the last quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter valued at about $467,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 6.6% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 227,366 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $14,861,000 after buying an additional 14,114 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on A. O. Smith from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $76.00 price objective (up previously from $74.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $77.43.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of A. O. Smith stock opened at $71.42 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $10.01 billion, a PE ratio of 19.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 52 week low of $58.83 and a 52 week high of $92.06. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $71.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.99.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $997.89 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.06 EPS. A. O. Smith's 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. 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 was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.88%.

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.

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