Bridgewater Associates LP Takes $385,000 Position in AAON, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAON)

Bridgewater Associates LP acquired a new position in shares of AAON, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAON - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 3,268 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $385,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AAON. Mather Group LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of AAON by 521.6% during 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 during the last quarter. Twin Tree Management LP purchased a new stake in AAON in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in AAON in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in AAON by 28.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 380 shares of the construction company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. 70.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AAON Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAON traded up $3.58 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $85.64. The company's stock had a trading volume of 471,308 shares, compared to its average volume of 729,901. The business's fifty day moving average is $84.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $109.57. The stock has a market cap of $6.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.73 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 3.06 and a quick ratio of 1.79. AAON, Inc. has a 1 year low of $68.98 and a 1 year high of $144.07.

AAON announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, March 4th that allows the company to buyback $30.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to purchase up to 0.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

AAON Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a $0.10 dividend. This is an increase from AAON's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. AAON's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David Raymond Stewart purchased 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $80.86 per share, for a total transaction of $80,860.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,000 shares in the company, valued at $242,580. This represents a 50.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 18.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. 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 research note on Friday, February 28th. CJS Securities raised AAON from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $110.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on AAON from $155.00 to $116.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded AAON from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $115.50.

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.