Franklin Resources Inc. Raises Stake in AAON, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAON)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of AAON, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAON - Free Report) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 345,821 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,424 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.43% of AAON worth $40,696,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AAON. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of AAON by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,868 shares of the construction company's stock worth $455,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of AAON by 5,040.4% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,416 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 2,369 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in AAON by 691.1% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 24,666 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,903,000 after acquiring an additional 21,548 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its holdings in AAON by 39.1% in the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 288,581 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $31,121,000 after buying an additional 81,111 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wolverine Trading LLC acquired a new position in AAON during the 3rd quarter valued at $471,000. 70.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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AAON Price Performance

AAON traded down $3.93 on Thursday, reaching $78.29. The stock had a trading volume of 196,466 shares, compared to its average volume of 714,827. The company has a market capitalization of $6.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.71 and a beta of 0.96. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $90.59 and a 200-day moving average of $111.18. The company has a current ratio of 3.06, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. AAON, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.98 and a fifty-two week high of $144.07.

AAON Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. This is a positive change from AAON's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. AAON's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.90%.

AAON announced that its board has approved a stock 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 repurchase up to 0.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Activity at AAON

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

AAON 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.