Legal & General Group Plc Has $32.65 Million Stock Position in A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Legal & General Group Plc lowered its stake in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 488,248 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 37,070 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $32,654,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AOS. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 19.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 939,302 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $61,393,000 after buying an additional 154,201 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 78.0% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 963 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith in the second quarter valued at approximately $5,212,000. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 11.4% during the second quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 211,176 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,847,000 after purchasing an additional 21,657 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 165.3% during the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 32,874 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,156,000 after purchasing an additional 20,485 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 1.4%

AOS opened at $56.80 on Friday. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 1-year low of $54.16 and a 1-year high of $81.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a market cap of $7.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $62.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.65.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $945.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $974.06 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. The company’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. Analysts predict that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 2.5%. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is presently 38.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AOS. Zacks Research downgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. DA Davidson set a $67.00 target price on shares of A. O. Smith and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Robert W. Baird set a $70.00 price target on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $60.00 price target (down from $65.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $69.89.

Insider Activity at A. O. Smith

In other news, SVP Darrell W. Schuh sold 1,104 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.39, for a total transaction of $82,126.56. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by 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.