Dana Investment Advisors Inc. Sells 3,399 Shares of Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS)

Dana Investment Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 60,328 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 3,399 shares during the period. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.16% of Advanced Energy Industries worth $6,976,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in Advanced Energy Industries by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 10,926 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $1,263,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries during the fourth quarter worth about $3,971,000. M&T Bank Corp increased its position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 99.9% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 25,564 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $2,956,000 after acquiring an additional 12,774 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 460,121 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $53,204,000 after acquiring an additional 18,533 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Advanced Energy Industries by 398.6% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,057 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $122,000 after acquiring an additional 845 shares in the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AEIS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup raised Advanced Energy Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $110.00 to $138.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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. Bank of America upgraded Advanced Energy Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $140.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $145.00 target price on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $126.56.

Advanced Energy Industries Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AEIS opened at $105.99 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.43. The company’s 50-day moving average is $118.37 and its 200 day moving average is $112.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 3.27 and a current ratio of 4.42. Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $89.12 and a fifty-two week high of $132.16.

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

Advanced Energy Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. Advanced Energy Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.97%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Eduardo Bernal Acebedo sold 19,309 shares of Advanced Energy Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.61, for a total value of $2,155,077.49. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lanesha Minnix sold 1,600 shares of the 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 sale, the director now owns 3,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $451,760.04. This represents a 31.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.00% 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.