Sarasin & Partners LLP Has $70.42 Million Stock Position in A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Sarasin & Partners LLP lowered its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) by 6.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,122,769 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 78,148 shares during the quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $70,420,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AOS. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 3,481.8% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 394 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 67.9% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 487 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AOS shares. DA Davidson set a $67.00 target price on A. O. Smith and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Robert W. Baird set a $70.00 price target on A. O. Smith in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup decreased their price target on A. O. Smith from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research lowered A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on A. O. Smith from $76.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $67.75.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of A. O. Smith stock opened at $63.02 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $59.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $65.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.51, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.17. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 52 week low of $54.16 and a 52 week high of $81.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.59.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.07. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 27.88% and a net margin of 13.15%.The business had revenue of $1 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $994.89 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.07 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. A. O. Smith has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.700-3.850 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.74 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.00%.

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.