A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS Shares Sold by WealthPLAN Partners LLC

WealthPLAN Partners LLC trimmed its stake in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) by 39.9% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 11,922 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 7,925 shares during the quarter. WealthPLAN Partners LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $782,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at A. O. Smith

In other news, Chairman Kevin J. Wheeler sold 22,200 shares of the company’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $7,172,105.22. This represents a 18.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AOS opened at $69.24 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.70 billion, a PE ratio of 19.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.30. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $71.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.43. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 12 month low of $58.83 and a 12 month high of $81.92.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.07 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $997.89 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.42% and a net margin of 13.68%.The firm’s revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.06 earnings per share. A. O. Smith has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.700-3.900 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This is a boost from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is currently 40.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $76.00 target price (up from $74.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Oppenheimer upped their target price on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Robert W. Baird upped 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on A. O. Smith in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.