Fisher Asset Management LLC Lowers Stake in IPG Photonics Co. (NASDAQ:IPGP)

Fisher Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of IPG Photonics Co. (NASDAQ:IPGP) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 174,860 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 1,499 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in IPG Photonics were worth $18,979,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in IPG Photonics by 127.2% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 259 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Disciplined Equity Management Inc. bought a new stake in IPG Photonics during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. AM Squared Ltd raised its holdings in IPG Photonics by 200.0% in the fourth quarter. AM Squared Ltd now owns 600 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of IPG Photonics by 39.4% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 612 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in IPG Photonics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $89,000. 93.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Eric Meurice sold 788 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.30, for a total transaction of $70,368.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,472,646.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Valentin Gapontsev Trust I sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.68, for a total value of $856,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,219,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $618,575,242.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Eric Meurice sold 788 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.30, for a total value of $70,368.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,472,646.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 29,788 shares of company stock worth $2,595,508. Corporate insiders own 33.50% of the company’s stock.

IPG Photonics Price Performance

Shares of IPGP stock opened at $86.76 on Monday. IPG Photonics Co. has a one year low of $80.33 and a one year high of $141.85. The company has a market capitalization of $3.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.36 and a beta of 1.17. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $87.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $93.96.

IPG Photonics (NASDAQ:IPGP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.04. IPG Photonics had a return on equity of 7.67% and a net margin of 15.34%. The business had revenue of $252.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $255.53 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.26 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 27.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that IPG Photonics Co. will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

IPG Photonics declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, February 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to buy up to 7.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IPGP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded IPG Photonics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 17th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of IPG Photonics in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Benchmark lowered their price objective on shares of IPG Photonics from $116.00 to $106.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of IPG Photonics from $74.00 to $68.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn reissued a “buy” rating on shares of IPG Photonics in a report on Thursday, January 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $110.40.

IPG Photonics Profile

IPG Photonics Corporation develops, manufactures, and sells various high-performance fiber lasers, fiber amplifiers, and diode lasers used in various applications primarily in materials processing worldwide. Its laser products include hybrid fiber-solid state lasers with green and ultraviolet wavelengths; fiber pigtailed packaged diodes and fiber coupled direct diode laser systems; high-energy pulsed lasers, multi-wavelength and tunable lasers, and single-polarization and single-frequency lasers; and high-power optical fiber delivery cables, fiber couplers, beam switches, chillers, scanners, and other accessories.