WealthPlan Investment Management LLC Acquires 7,581 Shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS)

Key Points

• WealthPlan Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in A. O. Smith Corporation by 25.8%, acquiring an additional 7,581 shares, bringing its total ownership to 36,976 shares valued at approximately $2.4 million.
• A. O. Smith recently reported quarterly earnings of $1.07 per share, exceeding analyst estimates, while revenue was slightly down by 1.3% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.34 per share, with an ex-dividend date set for July 31, representing a 1.9% yield and a payout ratio of 37.88%.

WealthPlan Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 25.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 36,976 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,581 shares during the quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC's holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $2,417,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 9.7% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 178,543 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $11,670,000 after acquiring an additional 15,769 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 41.6% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,089 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $463,000 after acquiring an additional 2,084 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 75.8% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 402,039 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $26,277,000 after acquiring an additional 173,366 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 18.3% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 8,085 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $528,000 after acquiring an additional 1,251 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.3% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,532 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $363,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Kevin J. Wheeler sold 22,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.26, for a total transaction of $1,581,972.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 100,647 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,172,105.22. This represents a 18.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 0.3%

AOS stock opened at $70.56 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.22. The business has a 50-day moving average of $67.29 and a 200-day moving average of $66.81. A. O. Smith Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $58.83 and a fifty-two week high of $92.06.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $997.89 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.42% and a net margin of 13.68%. A. O. Smith's revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.06 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio is 37.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AOS shares. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $76.00 target price (up previously from $74.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on A. O. Smith from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $77.43.

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.

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