Eduardo Bernal Acebedo Sells 19,309 Shares of Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS) Stock

Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS) 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 transaction of $2,155,077.49. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 19,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,212,333.42. This represents a 49.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Advanced Energy Industries Stock Down 4.2 %

NASDAQ AEIS opened at $105.99 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.00 billion, a PE ratio of 74.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.43. Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $89.12 and a fifty-two week high of $132.16. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $118.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $112.24. The company has a quick ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 4.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The electronics maker reported $1.06 earnings per share 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. will post 3.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Energy Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 24th. Advanced Energy Industries’s payout ratio is 27.97%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Advanced Energy Industries

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,913,669 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $568,168,000 after purchasing an additional 69,908 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 884,402 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $93,094,000 after purchasing an additional 15,030 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position 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 valued at $89,565,000 after purchasing an additional 138,814 shares in the last quarter. Summit Partners Public Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $71,494,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $68,949,000. 99.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AEIS shares. 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 report on Monday, December 16th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Advanced Energy Industries from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Advanced Energy Industries from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Advanced Energy Industries from $138.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 target price on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Advanced Energy Industries 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.