WealthPLAN Partners LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

WealthPLAN Partners LLC reduced its stake in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) by 39.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 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.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AOS. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 41.6% in the 1st 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. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 32.0% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 205,846 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,454,000 after buying an additional 49,862 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 7.5% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,380 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $417,000 after buying an additional 445 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.8% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 13,831 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $903,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 27.6% in the first quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 8,580 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $561,000 after buying an additional 1,854 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at A. O. Smith

In other news, Chairman Kevin J. Wheeler sold 22,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AOS shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target 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. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $76.00 price target (up from $74.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $77.43.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 0.6%

AOS opened at $69.24 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $71.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.65. The company has a market cap of $9.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.29, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.30. A. O. Smith Corporation has a one year low of $58.83 and a one year high of $81.92.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.06 earnings per share. A. O. Smith has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.700-3.900 EPS. Analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. This is a positive change from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. 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 40.11%.

A. O. Smith 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.