Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS) Shares Sold by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS) by 14.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,551 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 597 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Advanced Energy Industries were worth $398,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 535.3% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 216 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 61.6% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 354 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries during the 4th quarter worth $74,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 26.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,023 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $108,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. increased its position in Advanced Energy Industries by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 989 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $138.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup raised Advanced Energy Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $110.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price target on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Four equities 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $126.56.

Advanced Energy Industries Stock Up 2.4 %

Advanced Energy Industries stock opened at $88.11 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a PE ratio of 61.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 4.42 and a quick ratio of 3.27. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $102.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $110.57. Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.01 and a 1-year high of $132.16.

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The electronics maker reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts expect that Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. will post 3.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Energy Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. Advanced Energy Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Eduardo Bernal Acebedo sold 19,309 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.61, for a total value of $2,155,077.49. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lanesha Minnix sold 1,600 shares of Advanced Energy Industries stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.37, for a total transaction of $206,992.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,492 shares in the company, valued at $451,760.04. The trade was a 31.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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.