Vanguard Group Inc. Grows Holdings in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has increased its holdings in A. O. Smith Corporation by 2.0%, now owning approximately 10.01% of the company, valued at $941.46 million.
• A. O. Smith's recent quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $1.07, beating expectations, despite a 1.3% decline in revenue year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.34 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.9%, reflecting a payout ratio of 37.88%.

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 2.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,404,259 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 286,316 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 10.01% of A. O. Smith worth $941,462,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its position in A. O. Smith by 69.9% during the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 491 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 1st quarter worth approximately $72,000. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in A. O. Smith by 22.1% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,181 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the period. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter worth approximately $84,000. Finally, South Dakota Investment Council acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 1st quarter worth approximately $92,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $76.00 price objective (up from $74.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on A. O. Smith from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Stifel Nicolaus increased 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Thursday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $77.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other A. O. Smith news, Chairman Kevin J. Wheeler sold 22,200 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the chairman 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 through the SEC website. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

NYSE AOS traded down $0.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $72.18. The stock had a trading volume of 1,251,606 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,575,294. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 52-week low of $58.83 and a 52-week high of $92.06. The company has a market cap of $10.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.83. 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 (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $997.89 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.06 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio 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.