Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) Shares Sold by Marshall Wace LLP

Marshall Wace LLP decreased its position in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) by 79.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,241 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 93,794 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP owned 0.18% of Argan worth $3,322,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Argan by 18.1% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 480,658 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $65,869,000 after buying an additional 73,654 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Argan by 70.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 37,819 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $3,836,000 after buying an additional 15,681 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Argan in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,373,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Argan by 28.5% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 17,515 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,400,000 after buying an additional 3,880 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Argan by 95.7% in the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,543 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $897,000 after purchasing an additional 3,199 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company's stock.

Argan Trading Up 5.3 %

Argan stock traded up $8.10 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $161.23. The company's stock had a trading volume of 120,156 shares, compared to its average volume of 302,131. The stock's fifty day moving average is $130.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $141.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.20 billion, a PE ratio of 33.77 and a beta of 0.45. Argan, Inc. has a 1 year low of $60.03 and a 1 year high of $191.46.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 27th. The construction company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $1.07. The company had revenue of $232.47 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $197.50 million. Argan had a return on equity of 21.66% and a net margin of 8.20%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 41.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd were given a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 22nd. Argan's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Argan

In related news, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.03, for a total transaction of $725,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,496 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,667,264.88. The trade was a 30.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 11.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Lake Street Capital upgraded shares of Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $150.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 28th.

About Argan

Argan, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, maintenance, project development, and technical consulting services to the power generation market. The company operates through Power Services, Industrial Services, and Telecom Services segments. The Power Services segment offers engineering, procurement, and construction, as well as designing, building, and commissioning of large-scale energy projects to the owners of alternative energy facilities, such as biomass plants, wind farms, and solar fields; and design, construction, project management, start-up, and operation services for projects with approximately 18 gigawatts of power-generating capacity.