Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 53,566 Shares of Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS - Free Report) by 12.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 483,848 shares of the electronics maker's stock after buying an additional 53,566 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 1.28% of Advanced Energy Industries worth $50,920,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 36.0% in the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 38,699 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $4,209,000 after acquiring an additional 10,243 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Advanced Energy Industries by 22.4% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 647,682 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $70,442,000 after purchasing an additional 118,328 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in Advanced Energy Industries by 7.8% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 82,345 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $8,956,000 after purchasing an additional 5,930 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 13.5% during the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,681,776 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $182,910,000 after purchasing an additional 199,578 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 176,683 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $19,244,000 after buying an additional 6,217 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.67% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Advanced Energy Industries

In other Advanced Energy Industries news, Director Lanesha Minnix sold 1,000 shares of Advanced Energy Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.72, for a total value of $111,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,092 shares in the company, valued at $568,878.24. The trade was a 16.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Advanced Energy Industries Stock Up 0.5 %

Advanced Energy Industries stock traded up $0.52 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $113.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 136,033 shares, compared to its average volume of 214,241. Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $89.11 and a 52-week high of $124.48. The company has a market cap of $4.28 billion, a PE ratio of 99.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.92 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 4.62 and a quick ratio of 3.32. The firm's 50 day moving average is $113.42 and its 200 day moving average is $108.35.

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The electronics maker reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $374.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $372.49 million. Advanced Energy Industries had a net margin of 2.91% and a return on equity of 9.02%. The firm's revenue was down 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.12 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Advanced Energy Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 25th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 25th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. Advanced Energy Industries's dividend payout ratio is 35.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on AEIS shares. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Advanced Energy Industries to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised Advanced Energy Industries from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $120.25.

Advanced Energy Industries 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.