HighTower Advisors LLC Buys New Stake in IPG Photonics Co. (NASDAQ:IPGP)

HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of IPG Photonics Co. (NASDAQ:IPGP – Get Rating) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 15,820 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,490,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Concord Wealth Partners acquired a new position in IPG Photonics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC increased its stake in IPG Photonics by 363.9% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 566 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in IPG Photonics by 63.8% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 570 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in IPG Photonics by 112.4% during the 4th quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 667 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of IPG Photonics in the first quarter worth $120,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.50% of the company’s stock.

IPG Photonics Trading Up 1.6 %

NASDAQ:IPGP opened at $111.56 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $115.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $108.73. The company has a market cap of $5.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.22. IPG Photonics Co. has a twelve month low of $79.88 and a twelve month high of $134.81.

IPG Photonics (NASDAQ:IPGP – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 2nd. The semiconductor company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $347.17 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $330.60 million. IPG Photonics had a net margin of 7.14% and a return on equity of 4.62%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that IPG Photonics Co. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current year.

IPG Photonics declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 2nd that allows the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to buy up to 3.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on IPGP. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of IPG Photonics from $160.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of IPG Photonics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 11th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of IPG Photonics from $110.00 to $145.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of IPG Photonics from $100.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 16th. Finally, Benchmark decreased their price objective on shares of IPG Photonics from $140.00 to $134.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $135.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Valentin Gapontsev Trust I sold 16,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.20, for a total transaction of $2,016,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,378,099 shares in the company, valued at $901,603,697.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other IPG Photonics news, Director Jeanmarie F. Desmond sold 1,180 shares of IPG Photonics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.70, for a total transaction of $129,446.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,304 shares in the company, valued at $581,848.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Valentin Gapontsev Trust I sold 16,500 shares of IPG Photonics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.20, for a total transaction of $2,016,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,378,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $901,603,697.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 58,930 shares of company stock worth $6,860,044. Insiders own 37.10% of the company’s stock.

IPG Photonics Company Profile

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IPG Photonics Corp. engages in the design, development, production and distribution of fiber lasers, laser systems, fiber amplifiers, and related optical components. Its products include lasers, beam delivery, medical, telecom equipment, product finder and components such as pump diodes, chillers, and mid-IR crystals.