Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS)

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lowered its stake in Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS - Free Report) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 400,481 shares of the electronics maker's stock after selling 3,198 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned 1.06% of Advanced Energy Industries worth $46,308,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEIS. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 535.3% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 216 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Advanced Energy Industries by 61.6% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 354 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Advanced Energy Industries in the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries in the fourth quarter worth approximately $74,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 989 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.67% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Eduardo Bernal Acebedo sold 19,309 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.61, for a total transaction of $2,155,077.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 stock was 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 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. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Advanced Energy Industries Price Performance

NASDAQ:AEIS traded down $1.66 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $97.23. 554,580 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 256,520. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $100.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $110.32. The company has a quick ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 4.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market cap of $3.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.47. Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.01 and a 1 year high of $132.16.

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 8.90% and a net margin of 3.66%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. will post 3.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Energy Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Saturday, May 24th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.41%. Advanced Energy Industries's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AEIS. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $136.00 to $124.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com downgraded Advanced Energy Industries from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $145.00 target price on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Advanced Energy Industries from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Advanced Energy Industries from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $110.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $125.22.

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.