Truist Financial Corp Sells 2,126 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Truist Financial Corp lowered its stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 39.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,233 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,126 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $235,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vigilant Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Addison Advisors LLC increased its stake in A. O. Smith by 93.6% in the 1st quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 457 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in A. O. Smith by 344.1% in the 1st quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 906 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 702 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 1st quarter worth approximately $83,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.48% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:AOS opened at $73.38 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $10.91 billion, a PE ratio of 36.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.26. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $68.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.97. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12-month low of $55.41 and a 12-month high of $76.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $937.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $910.81 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 30.76% and a net margin of 7.87%. A. O. Smith’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.69 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.74%. This is an increase from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 30th. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 64.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AOS. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “hold” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Tuesday, September 12th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $87.00 in a research report on Friday, July 28th. Seaport Res Ptn reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Monday, August 7th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on A. O. Smith in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $70.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 56,686 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.24, for a total transaction of $4,094,996.64. Following the sale, the director now owns 56,951 shares in the company, valued at $4,114,140.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, VP James F. Stern sold 8,118 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.00, for a total value of $592,614.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 120,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,760,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 56,686 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.24, for a total value of $4,094,996.64. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 56,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,114,140.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 142,942 shares of company stock valued at $10,297,592 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Profile

A. O. Smith Corporation manufactures and markets residential and commercial gas, heat pump and electric water heaters, boilers, tanks, and water treatment products in North America, China, Europe, and India. It operates through two segments, North America and Rest of World. The company offers water heaters for residences, restaurants, hotels, office buildings, laundries, car washes, and small businesses; commercial boilers for hospitals, schools, hotels, and other large commercial buildings, as well as residential boilers for homes, apartments, and condominiums; and water treatment products comprising point-of-entry water softeners, well water solutions, and whole-home water filtration products, on-the-go filtration bottles, point-of-use carbon, and reverse osmosis products for residences, restaurants, hotels, and offices.