Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS) Stock Position Boosted by Fisher Asset Management LLC

Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS) by 23.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 155,688 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 29,969 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Advanced Energy Industries were worth $18,002,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AEIS. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in Advanced Energy Industries by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 24,763 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $2,606,000 after buying an additional 583 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,496 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 483,848 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $50,920,000 after purchasing an additional 53,566 shares in the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 18,090 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $1,904,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MQS Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at about $664,000. Institutional investors own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AEIS has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup upgraded shares of Advanced Energy Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $110.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Advanced Energy Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $140.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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 report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Advanced Energy Industries from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $126.56.

Advanced Energy Industries Stock Performance

Shares of AEIS opened at $107.43 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $118.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $112.26. 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 has a market cap of $4.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.13, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.45. Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. has a one year low of $89.11 and a one year high of $132.16.

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The electronics maker reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. will post 3.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Advanced Energy Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 24th. Advanced Energy Industries’s payout ratio is presently 27.97%.

Insider Activity at Advanced Energy Industries

In related news, Director Lanesha Minnix sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 3,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $451,760.04. This trade represents a 31.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

About Advanced Energy Industries

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.