Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 9,629 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after buying an additional 206 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Advanced Energy Industries were worth $1,113,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AEIS. Swiss National Bank lifted its position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 74,100 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $8,568,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 18,700 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $2,162,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $229,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $8,002,000. Finally, Isthmus Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 29,469 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $3,408,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $138.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on 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. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup raised Advanced Energy Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $110.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Advanced Energy Industries from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Four equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $126.56.

Advanced Energy Industries Trading Up 0.5 %

AEIS stock opened at $95.31 on Tuesday. Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. has a 12 month low of $89.12 and a 12 month high of $132.16. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $113.28 and its 200 day moving average is $112.50. The company 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 (NASDAQ:AEIS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The electronics maker reported $1.06 EPS 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, research analysts anticipate that Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. will post 3.66 EPS for the current year.

Advanced Energy Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. Advanced Energy Industries’s payout ratio is currently 27.97%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Lanesha Minnix sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.37, for a total value of $206,992.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $451,760.04. This trade represents a 31.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Eduardo Bernal Acebedo sold 19,309 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.61, for a total value of $2,155,077.49. Following the transaction, 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. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

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.