Ameriprise Financial Inc. Purchases 18,467 Shares of Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC - Free Report) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 524,824 shares of the energy company's stock after purchasing an additional 18,467 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned 0.30% of Archrock worth $13,063,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Archrock by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,571,800 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $536,922,000 after purchasing an additional 508,214 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its position in Archrock by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 13,074,904 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $325,434,000 after purchasing an additional 47,563 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Archrock by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,883,949 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $221,121,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008,438 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Archrock by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 5,354,764 shares of the energy company's stock worth $133,280,000 after buying an additional 411,286 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Archrock by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,927,024 shares of the energy company's stock worth $122,634,000 after acquiring an additional 448,410 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.45% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Archrock

In related news, SVP Jason Ingersoll sold 42,036 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.49, for a total transaction of $1,029,461.64. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 275,911 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,757,060.39. This trade represents a 13.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Sidoti upgraded Archrock to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Citigroup upped their price target on Archrock from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $26.67.

Archrock Price Performance

Shares of AROC traded up $0.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $24.80. The company had a trading volume of 931,342 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,437,244. Archrock, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.27 and a twelve month high of $30.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The company's 50-day moving average is $24.52 and its 200-day moving average is $25.57. The company has a market capitalization of $4.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.19.

Archrock (NYSE:AROC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The energy company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.03. Archrock had a return on equity of 16.24% and a net margin of 13.34%. The business had revenue of $347.16 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $342.98 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Archrock, Inc. will post 1.09 EPS for the current year.

Archrock announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Monday, May 5th that allows the company to buyback $50.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the energy company to repurchase up to 1.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Archrock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th were issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.07%. Archrock's dividend payout ratio is 64.41%.

Archrock Company Profile

Archrock, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy infrastructure company in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Contract Operations and Aftermarket Services. It engages in the designing, sourcing, owning, installing, operating, servicing, repairing, and maintaining of its owned fleet of natural gas compression equipment to provide natural gas compression services.