LPL Financial LLC Purchases 3,762 Shares of Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS)

LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS - Free Report) by 16.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,838 shares of the electronics maker's stock after buying an additional 3,762 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned about 0.07% of Advanced Energy Industries worth $3,103,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AEIS. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 535.3% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 216 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $74,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Advanced Energy Industries by 26.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,023 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its position in Advanced Energy Industries by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 989 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $114,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 398.6% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,057 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $122,000 after buying an additional 845 shares in the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Eduardo Bernal Acebedo sold 19,309 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 19,822 shares in the company, valued at $2,212,333.42. This trade represents a 49.34 % decrease in their position. 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 company's 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 transaction, the director now owns 3,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $451,760.04. The trade was a 31.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Advanced Energy Industries Trading Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ:AEIS traded up $0.16 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $85.73. 47,949 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 345,179. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.95, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $105.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $110.98. 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 fifty-two week low of $75.01 and a fifty-two week high of $132.16.

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The electronics maker reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. will post 3.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Advanced Energy Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. Advanced Energy Industries's payout ratio is 27.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on AEIS. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $138.00 to $136.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup raised Advanced Energy Industries from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $110.00 to $138.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $145.00 price target on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $126.56.

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.