Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 47,514 Shares of Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS)

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its stake in Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS) by 1.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,866,155 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 47,514 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 12.92% of Advanced Energy Industries worth $463,793,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 21.8% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 774,586 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $89,565,000 after acquiring an additional 138,814 shares in the last quarter. Summit Partners Public Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries in the 4th quarter worth about $71,494,000. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries in the 4th quarter worth about $58,393,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 477,296 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $45,491,000 after acquiring an additional 1,624 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 457,759 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $52,931,000 after acquiring an additional 53,692 shares in the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Advanced Energy Industries Stock Performance

Shares of AEIS stock opened at $151.40 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $138.55 and its 200 day moving average is $118.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 2.97 and a current ratio of 4.09. The company has a market capitalization of $5.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 68.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.52. Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. has a one year low of $75.01 and a one year high of $163.07.

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The electronics maker reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $441.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $421.32 million. Advanced Energy Industries had a net margin of 5.13% and a return on equity of 12.38%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.85 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. will post 3.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Energy Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 25th. Advanced Energy Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AEIS. Benchmark increased their price target on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $150.00 price target on shares of Advanced Energy Industries and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.90.

Insider Transactions at Advanced Energy Industries

In other news, EVP John Donaghey sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.73, for a total transaction of $160,730.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 10,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,611,961.17. This trade represents a 9.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Paul R. Oldham sold 1,173 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.29, for a total transaction of $154,003.17. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 31,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,070,777.74. The trade was a 3.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 4,173 shares of company stock worth $594,733. 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.