Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Lowers Stock Holdings in A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd significantly reduced its holdings in A. O. Smith Corporation by 77.2%, selling 10,767 shares in the second quarter.
• A. O. Smith's shares opened at $72.30, with a market cap of $10.13 billion and recent earnings beating analysts' estimates at $1.07 per share.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.34, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 1.9%.

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd reduced its holdings in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 77.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,185 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 10,767 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $209,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 286,316 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 67.3% in the 1st quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 5,188,561 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $339,124,000 after buying an additional 2,086,433 shares during the period. 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. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,872,658 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $121,240,000 after buying an additional 160,522 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 35.6% in the 1st 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 during the period. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of AOS stock opened at $72.30 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $10.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 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 fifty-two week low of $58.83 and a fifty-two week high of $92.06. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $71.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.92.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $997.89 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.06 earnings per share. A. O. Smith's revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. A. O. Smith has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.700-3.900 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

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 $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 37.88%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Kevin J. Wheeler sold 22,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AOS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $76.00 price target (up from $74.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Monday, July 28th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price 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. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. 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 target for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted 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 issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $77.43.

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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