Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC Sells 535 Shares of A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC reduced its position in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) by 9.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,312 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 535 shares during the quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $348,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in 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 in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of 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 period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of 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 period. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Trading Up 0.3%

AOS opened at $69.89 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $71.92 and its 200-day moving average is $68.59. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 1-year low of $58.83 and a 1-year high of $80.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market cap of $9.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.47, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.30.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted 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 company had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $997.89 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.06 EPS. The firm’s quarterly 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. Equities research analysts predict that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. This is an increase from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is 37.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Kevin J. Wheeler sold 22,200 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.26, for a total transaction of $1,581,972.00. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 100,647 shares in the company, valued at $7,172,105.22. This trade represents a 18.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AOS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of 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 raised their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $76.00 price target (up from $74.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.43.

About A. O. Smith

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.