Prudential Financial Inc. Has $4.55 Million Stock Holdings in Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS)

Prudential Financial Inc. lowered its holdings in Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS - Free Report) by 7.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,321 shares of the electronics maker's stock after selling 3,340 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned about 0.10% of Advanced Energy Industries worth $4,547,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $9,864,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Advanced Energy Industries by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,913,669 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $568,168,000 after purchasing an additional 69,908 shares during the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new position in Advanced Energy Industries in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,002,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 483,848 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $50,920,000 after purchasing an additional 53,566 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sora Investors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,736,000. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Advanced Energy Industries

In other news, 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $451,760.04. This represents a 31.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 19,822 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,212,333.42. This trade represents a 49.34 % 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 Stock Performance

AEIS stock traded down $4.84 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $79.03. 835,972 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 239,717. Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.10 and a 1-year high of $132.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.99 billion, a PE ratio of 55.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.47. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $110.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $112.12. 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 (NASDAQ:AEIS - Get Free Report) last announced 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 return on equity of 8.90% and a net margin of 3.66%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. will post 3.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Advanced Energy Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Advanced Energy Industries's payout ratio is presently 27.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on AEIS. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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 note on Thursday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $145.00 price objective on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Advanced Energy Industries from $138.00 to $136.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Advanced Energy Industries from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $110.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Four investment 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 company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.