Franklin Resources Inc. Has $40.70 Million Stock Position in AAON, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAON)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in AAON, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAON) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 345,821 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 15,424 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.43% of AAON worth $40,696,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in shares of AAON by 521.6% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 230 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Twin Tree Management LP acquired a new stake in AAON in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AAON during the third quarter worth $36,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of AAON by 67.5% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 325 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AAON by 28.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 380 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at AAON

In related news, Director David Raymond Stewart acquired 1,000 shares of AAON stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $80.86 per share, with a total value of $80,860.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,000 shares in the company, valued at $242,580. This represents a 50.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 18.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AAON. StockNews.com cut AAON from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. CJS Securities upgraded shares of AAON from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $110.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of AAON from $155.00 to $116.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of AAON from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $115.50.

AAON Stock Down 4.2 %

AAON stock opened at $74.20 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.69 and a beta of 1.00. AAON, Inc. has a 52-week low of $69.52 and a 52-week high of $144.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 3.06. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $94.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $112.03.

AAON declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, March 4th that allows the company to buyback $30.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to reacquire up to 0.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

AAON Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This is an increase from AAON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. AAON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.90%.

AAON Company Profile

AAON, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in engineering, manufacturing, marketing, and selling air conditioning and heating equipment in the United States and Canada. The company operates through three segments: AAON Oklahoma, AAON Coil Products, and BASX. It offers rooftop units, data center cooling solutions, cleanroom systems, chillers, packaged outdoor mechanical rooms, air handling units, makeup air units, energy recovery units, condensing units, geothermal/water-source heat pumps, coils, and controls.