Welch & Forbes LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Welch & Forbes LLC lowered its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 585,817 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 9,492 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $39,179,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 26.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 665,793 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $48,876,000 after buying an additional 139,117 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 1.8% during the third quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,082,982 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $152,912,000 after buying an additional 36,122 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 4.6% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,508,947 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $184,182,000 after buying an additional 109,654 shares in the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 19.9% during the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 273,216 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $20,057,000 after buying an additional 45,299 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 2.1% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE AOS opened at $56.80 on Friday. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 12-month low of $54.16 and a 12-month high of $81.86. The company has a market capitalization of $7.83 billion, a PE ratio of 15.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.23. 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’s 50-day moving average is $62.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.65.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.94 by ($0.09). A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.84% and a return on equity of 28.42%. The business had revenue of $945.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $974.06 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.95 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. A. O. Smith has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.600-3.900 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were given a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is currently 38.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on AOS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $60.00 price objective (down from $65.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Friday, May 15th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 4th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $75.00 price target on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Friday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $69.89.

Insider Buying and Selling at A. O. Smith

In other news, SVP Darrell W. Schuh sold 1,104 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.39, for a total value of $82,126.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 2,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $163,732.39. The trade was a 33.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

A. O. Smith Company 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.