Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS) Shares Bought by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,913,669 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after buying an additional 69,908 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 13.04% of Advanced Energy Industries worth $568,168,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings 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 valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Advanced Energy Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Advanced Energy Industries during the 4th quarter valued at $74,000. Principal Securities Inc. increased its position in Advanced Energy Industries by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 989 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $114,000 after buying an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 26.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,023 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $108,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Advanced Energy Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AEIS opened at $95.31 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $113.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $112.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.61 billion, a PE ratio of 66.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 4.42 and a quick ratio of 3.27. Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. has a 12 month low of $89.12 and a 12 month high of $132.16.

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The electronics maker reported $1.06 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 forecast that Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. will post 3.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Advanced Energy Industries Dividend Announcement

The business 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. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. Advanced Energy Industries’s payout ratio is 27.97%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Eduardo Bernal Acebedo sold 19,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,212,333.42. This trade represents a 49.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Lanesha Minnix sold 1,600 shares of the business’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 transaction, the director now owns 3,492 shares in the company, valued at $451,760.04. This represents a 31.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AEIS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective 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. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price 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. Citigroup upgraded Advanced Energy Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $110.00 to $138.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company 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.