Vanguard Group Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS)

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS - Free Report) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,913,669 shares of the electronics maker's stock after acquiring 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 quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 26,838 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $3,103,000 after purchasing an additional 3,762 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in Advanced Energy Industries in the fourth quarter valued at about $856,000. Xponance Inc. boosted its stake in Advanced Energy Industries by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 2,687 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $311,000 after buying an additional 251 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 83.8% during the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 12,550 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $1,451,000 after acquiring an additional 5,723 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 37.8% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,388 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $160,000 after acquiring an additional 381 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.67% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Eduardo Bernal Acebedo sold 19,309 shares of the firm'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 directly owns 19,822 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,212,333.42. This trade represents a 49.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Lanesha Minnix sold 1,600 shares of Advanced Energy Industries stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.37, for a total transaction of $206,992.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,492 shares in the company, 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on AEIS. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $145.00 target price on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Bank of America raised Advanced Energy Industries from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $140.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Citigroup raised shares of Advanced Energy Industries from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $110.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Advanced Energy Industries from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Advanced Energy Industries from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $126.56.

Advanced Energy Industries Stock Down 5.8 %

Shares of AEIS traded down $4.84 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $79.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 835,972 shares, compared to its average volume of 239,717. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 4.42 and a quick ratio of 3.27. Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.10 and a 12-month high of $132.16. The stock has a market cap of $2.99 billion, a PE ratio of 55.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.47. The company's 50 day moving average is $110.29 and its 200 day moving average is $112.12.

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

Advanced Energy Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. Advanced Energy Industries's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.97%.

About Advanced Energy Industries

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.