A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS Shares Sold by Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group

Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group cut its position in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) by 17.0% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 12,961 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,646 shares during the period. Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $850,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the first quarter valued at $26,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 143.7% during the 2nd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 446 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 74.8% during the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 458 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 161.7% during the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 539 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

In other A. O. Smith news, Chairman Kevin J. Wheeler sold 22,200 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chairman directly owned 100,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,172,105.22. The trade was a 18.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE AOS opened at $68.91 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 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 $71.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.83. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 1 year low of $58.83 and a 1 year high of $78.25.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.06 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This is a positive change from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on AOS. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $76.00 target price (up from $74.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Friday. 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 note on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 18th. Finally, 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 note on Monday, July 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, A. O. Smith has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.00.

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.