Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Decreases Stock Holdings in A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lowered its stake in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) by 67.8% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 703,108 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,483,551 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $46,356,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 26.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 665,793 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $48,876,000 after purchasing an additional 139,117 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,082,982 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $152,912,000 after purchasing an additional 36,122 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,508,947 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $184,182,000 after buying an additional 109,654 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 128.5% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 53,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,942,000 after buying an additional 30,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,871,694 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $137,393,000 after buying an additional 38,694 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on AOS. DA Davidson set a $67.00 price objective on A. O. Smith and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Citigroup lowered their price target on A. O. Smith from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Oppenheimer set a $75.00 price target on A. O. Smith and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $61.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $69.33.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

AOS stock opened at $62.84 on Wednesday. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 1 year low of $54.16 and a 1 year high of $81.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.66 billion, a PE ratio of 16.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.18. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.59.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $945.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $974.06 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.42% and a net margin of 13.84%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.95 EPS. A. O. Smith has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.600-3.900 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is presently 38.30%.

A. O. Smith Profile

A. O. Smith Corporation, based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a leading manufacturer of water heating and water treatment products for residential and commercial applications. Since its founding in 1874, the company has built a reputation for producing reliable, energy-efficient water heaters, boilers and pressure vessels. Its product portfolio encompasses gas, electric, condensing and tankless water heaters, as well as specialty boilers designed to meet a variety of building and industrial needs.

The company operates through two primary segments: North America and Asia.