Truist Financial Corp Purchases 16,334 Shares of A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Truist Financial Corp increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) by 15.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 122,353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 16,334 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $8,183,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AOS. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 19.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 939,302 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $61,393,000 after buying an additional 154,201 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 78.0% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 963 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the second quarter worth about $5,212,000. California Public Employees Retirement System grew 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 buying an additional 21,657 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia grew 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 buying an additional 20,485 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Darrell W. Schuh sold 1,104 shares of the firm’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 value 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. This trade represents a 33.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AOS shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $75.00 price objective on A. O. Smith and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Robert W. Baird set a $70.00 price objective on A. O. Smith in a report on Friday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $75.00 price objective on A. O. Smith in a report on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup decreased their price target on A. O. Smith from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.44.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 2.7%

AOS stock opened at $58.61 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $66.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.77. The company has a market cap of $8.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.23. A. O. Smith Corporation has a twelve month low of $58.22 and a twelve month high of $81.86.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $945.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $974.06 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.84% and a return on equity of 28.42%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. A. O. Smith has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.600-3.900 EPS. Analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 30th. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.30%.

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.