Natixis Advisors LLC Raises Position in Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS)

Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS) by 21.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 26,638 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after buying an additional 4,666 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Advanced Energy Industries worth $3,080,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 460,121 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $53,204,000 after acquiring an additional 18,533 shares in the last quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH grew its position in Advanced Energy Industries by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 139,556 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $16,137,000 after purchasing an additional 12,860 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries in the fourth quarter worth $3,971,000. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 192.6% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 19,405 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $2,303,000 after buying an additional 12,773 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 99.9% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 25,564 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $2,956,000 after buying an additional 12,774 shares during the period. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Advanced Energy Industries news, Director Lanesha Minnix sold 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $451,760.04. This represents a 31.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Eduardo Bernal Acebedo sold 19,309 shares of Advanced Energy Industries stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Advanced Energy Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AEIS opened at $105.26 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.99 billion, a PE ratio of 73.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 3.27 and a current ratio of 4.42. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $115.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $112.11. Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. has a 1 year low of $89.12 and a 1 year high of $132.16.

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The electronics maker reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, research analysts predict 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 paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. Advanced Energy Industries’s payout ratio is 27.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America upgraded Advanced Energy Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $140.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Advanced Energy Industries from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target 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 raised shares of 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $138.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Four research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.