Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Sells 84,552 Shares of A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. cut its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) by 29.9% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 198,155 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 84,552 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $12,993,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,045,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith during the second quarter valued at $386,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 64.4% in the 2nd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 28,832 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,891,000 after acquiring an additional 11,294 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 15,833 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,035,000 after purchasing an additional 1,036 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in A. O. Smith in the first quarter worth $253,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AOS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 18th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $80.00 target price on A. O. Smith and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $76.00 target price (up from $74.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.00.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

NYSE:AOS opened at $66.33 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $70.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.88, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.30. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 1-year low of $58.83 and a 1-year high of $77.31.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The industrial products company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $942.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $946.33 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 29.34% and a net margin of 13.85%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.82 earnings per share. A. O. Smith has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.700-3.850 EPS. Analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This is a boost from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is 38.81%.

About A. O. Smith

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.