Vanguard Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS)

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS - Free Report) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,913,669 shares of the electronics maker's stock after purchasing an additional 69,908 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 13.04% of Advanced Energy Industries worth $568,168,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 535.3% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 216 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries during the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Advanced Energy Industries during the fourth quarter worth approximately $74,000. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 989 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Advanced Energy Industries by 26.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,023 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $108,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.67% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on AEIS shares. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $138.00 to $136.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $145.00 price target on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Advanced Energy Industries from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Bank of America upgraded Advanced Energy Industries from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $140.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Advanced Energy Industries from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $110.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $126.56.

Insider Activity at Advanced Energy Industries

In related news, COO Eduardo Bernal Acebedo sold 19,309 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.61, for a total transaction of $2,155,077.49. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 19,822 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,212,333.42. This represents a 49.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Lanesha Minnix sold 1,600 shares of Advanced Energy Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.37, for a total transaction of $206,992.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,492 shares of the company's stock, valued at $451,760.04. The trade was a 31.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Advanced Energy Industries Price Performance

Shares of AEIS stock traded down $12.65 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $83.87. The stock had a trading volume of 642,792 shares, compared to its average volume of 236,809. The company has a market cap of $3.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 4.42, a quick ratio of 3.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. has a 12-month low of $83.20 and a 12-month high of $132.16. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $112.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $112.37.

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The electronics maker reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.09 by ($0.03). Advanced Energy Industries had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 8.90%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. will post 3.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Advanced Energy Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Advanced Energy Industries's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.97%.

Advanced Energy Industries Company Profile

Advanced Energy Industries, Inc provides precision power conversion, measurement, and control solutions in the United States and internationally. The company's plasma power products offer solutions to enable innovation for semiconductor and thin film plasma processes, such as dry etch and deposition.