Homestead Advisers Corp Sells 11,300 Shares of Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS)

Homestead Advisers Corp reduced its position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS - Free Report) by 17.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 51,862 shares of the electronics maker's stock after selling 11,300 shares during the period. Homestead Advisers Corp owned 0.14% of Advanced Energy Industries worth $5,997,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries during the 4th quarter valued at $9,864,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Advanced Energy Industries by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,913,669 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $568,168,000 after buying an additional 69,908 shares during the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Advanced Energy Industries in the fourth quarter worth about $8,002,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 483,848 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $50,920,000 after acquiring an additional 53,566 shares during the period. Finally, Sora Investors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at $4,736,000. 99.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AEIS shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Advanced Energy Industries from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating 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. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $145.00 target price on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Advanced Energy Industries from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price 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. Four research 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 stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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 on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.61, for a total value of $2,155,077.49. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 19,822 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,212,333.42. This represents a 49.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Lanesha Minnix sold 1,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 3,492 shares of the company's stock, valued at $451,760.04. This represents a 31.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Advanced Energy Industries Trading Down 0.9 %

NASDAQ:AEIS traded down $0.85 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $93.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 62,834 shares, compared to its average volume of 233,548. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.66, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.43. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $113.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $112.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 3.27 and a current ratio of 4.42. Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. has a 1 year low of $89.12 and a 1 year high of $132.16.

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

Advanced Energy Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Advanced Energy Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.