Danske Bank A S Sells 12,337 Shares of A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Danske Bank A S cut its stake in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) by 93.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 12,337 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $54,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AOS. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 54.2% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,208,831 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $235,560,000 after acquiring an additional 1,128,543 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,096,018 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,009,622,000 after acquiring an additional 683,176 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 655.5% in the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 710,716 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $46,602,000 after acquiring an additional 616,638 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 48.4% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,649,985 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $110,351,000 after acquiring an additional 537,920 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 530.1% in the third quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 633,407 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $46,498,000 after acquiring an additional 532,875 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of AOS opened at $60.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.56. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 52-week low of $58.22 and a 52-week high of $81.86. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $66.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.77. The firm has a market cap of $8.32 billion, a PE ratio of 16.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.23.

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

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 30th. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at A. O. Smith

In other news, SVP Darrell W. Schuh sold 1,104 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.39, for a total transaction of $82,126.56. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 2,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $163,732.39. This represents a 33.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on AOS. Citigroup reduced their target price on A. O. Smith from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $61.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 13th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $75.00 target price on A. O. Smith and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $67.00 price target on A. O. Smith and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.44.

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.