Legato Capital Management LLC Grows Position in Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS)

Legato Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS - Free Report) by 59.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,408 shares of the electronics maker's stock after acquiring an additional 8,379 shares during the period. Legato Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Advanced Energy Industries worth $2,591,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AEIS. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 18.4% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,649 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $397,000 after acquiring an additional 566 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries during the second quarter valued at $250,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 37.6% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 5,520 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $581,000 after buying an additional 1,508 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 51.1% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 946 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $100,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 20.9% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 3,905 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $411,000 after buying an additional 674 shares during the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on AEIS. StockNews.com raised Advanced Energy Industries from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America raised Advanced Energy Industries from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $140.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Advanced Energy Industries from $138.00 to $136.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Advanced Energy Industries from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Citigroup raised Advanced Energy Industries from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $110.00 to $138.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $126.56.

Insider Activity at Advanced Energy Industries

In related news, Director Lanesha Minnix sold 1,000 shares of Advanced Energy Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.72, for a total transaction of $111,720.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,092 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $568,878.24. This trade represents a 16.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Advanced Energy Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AEIS traded up $0.78 during trading on Friday, hitting $124.27. The company had a trading volume of 405,452 shares, compared to its average volume of 242,176. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $117.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $110.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 3.32 and a current ratio of 4.62. Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. has a 12 month low of $89.11 and a 12 month high of $130.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 109.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 1.45.

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 9.02% and a net margin of 2.91%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Advanced Energy Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 24th. Advanced Energy Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.09%.

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.