Jennison Associates LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC)

Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC - Free Report) by 56.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,303 shares of the energy company's stock after acquiring an additional 12,667 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC's holdings in Archrock were worth $926,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AROC. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Archrock during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,241,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Archrock by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,883,949 shares of the energy company's stock worth $221,121,000 after buying an additional 1,008,438 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC acquired a new position in Archrock in the 4th quarter worth approximately $17,247,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Archrock by 186.0% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,047,346 shares of the energy company's stock worth $26,068,000 after buying an additional 681,160 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Archrock by 135.1% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 993,063 shares of the energy company's stock worth $24,717,000 after buying an additional 570,680 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.45% of the company's stock.

Archrock Stock Performance

NYSE:AROC traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $23.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,280,017 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,465,374. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 0.96. Archrock, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.26 and a fifty-two week high of $30.44. The firm's 50 day moving average is $24.51 and its 200-day moving average is $25.42. The firm has a market cap of $4.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.08.

Archrock (NYSE:AROC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The energy company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.03. Archrock had a return on equity of 18.31% and a net margin of 16.38%. The business had revenue of $347.16 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $342.98 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Archrock, Inc. will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Archrock announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Monday, May 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the energy company to reacquire up to 1.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Archrock Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 5th. This is a positive change from Archrock's previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. Archrock's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Archrock news, SVP Jason Ingersoll sold 42,036 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.49, for a total value of $1,029,461.64. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 275,911 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,757,060.39. This represents a 13.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Sidoti upgraded shares of Archrock to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $27.00.

About Archrock

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.