D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Sells 34,795 Shares of Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lowered its position in Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS) by 43.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,307 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 34,795 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Advanced Energy Industries were worth $5,239,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Advanced Energy Industries in the fourth quarter worth approximately $68,949,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in Advanced Energy Industries by 21.8% during 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 buying an additional 138,814 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $9,864,000. Southernsun Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 240.5% in the fourth quarter. Southernsun Asset Management LLC now owns 115,668 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $13,375,000 after buying an additional 81,697 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 1.4% in the fourth 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AEIS has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Advanced Energy Industries from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on Advanced Energy Industries from $145.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $130.00 price target (down previously from $135.00) on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Advanced Energy Industries from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Advanced Energy Industries from $138.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Advanced Energy Industries currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $124.67.

Advanced Energy Industries Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of AEIS opened at $118.15 on Friday. Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.01 and a 52-week high of $132.16. The stock has a market cap of $4.45 billion, a PE ratio of 82.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.50. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $99.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $110.54. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The electronics maker reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.26. Advanced Energy Industries had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 8.90%. The firm had revenue of $404.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $392.36 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.58 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. will post 3.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Energy Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 26th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.34%. Advanced Energy Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.62%.

Insider Activity at Advanced Energy Industries

In other Advanced Energy Industries 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 directly 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 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 the business’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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,212,333.42. The trade was a 49.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Advanced Energy Industries 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.