Norges Bank Invests $68.95 Million in Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS)

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 596,291 shares of the electronics maker's stock, valued at approximately $68,949,000. Norges Bank owned about 1.58% of Advanced Energy Industries as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries in the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries during the 4th quarter valued at about $74,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 26.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,023 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $108,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in Advanced Energy Industries by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 989 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $114,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.67% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions 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 transaction of $2,155,077.49. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 19,822 shares in the company, valued at $2,212,333.42. This represents a 49.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Lanesha Minnix sold 1,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.37, for a total value of $206,992.00. Following the sale, the director now directly 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. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Advanced Energy Industries Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AEIS traded down $1.76 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $80.17. 466,426 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 242,892. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 4.42 and a quick ratio of 3.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.04 billion, a PE ratio of 56.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.47. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $108.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $111.71. Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.01 and a 12-month 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 earnings per share 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. will post 3.66 EPS for the current year.

Advanced Energy Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Advanced Energy Industries's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AEIS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $145.00 price objective on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Advanced Energy Industries from $138.00 to $136.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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 report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup raised 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $126.56.

Advanced Energy Industries Company Profile

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.