Wealthfront Advisers LLC Invests $8 Million in Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS)

Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new position in Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 69,201 shares of the electronics maker’s stock, valued at approximately $8,002,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its holdings in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 1.5% during the third 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 buying an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. MQS Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries during the third quarter valued at approximately $664,000. Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 200.0% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 312 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 68.4% during the third quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 458 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC raised its holdings in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 24.3% during the third quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 136,897 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $14,407,000 after buying an additional 26,782 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

Advanced Energy Industries Trading Up 2.4 %

Advanced Energy Industries stock opened at $105.77 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 3.27 and a current ratio of 4.42. The firm has a market cap of $3.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 73.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.43. Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. has a 1 year low of $89.12 and a 1 year high of $132.16. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $117.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $112.15.

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 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, research analysts predict that Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. will post 3.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Energy Industries Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Advanced Energy Industries

In other Advanced Energy Industries news, COO Eduardo Bernal Acebedo sold 19,309 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 19,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,212,333.42. The trade was a 49.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lanesha Minnix sold 1,600 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the director now directly owns 3,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $451,760.04. This trade represents a 31.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AEIS. Bank of America raised Advanced Energy Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $140.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Citigroup raised Advanced Energy Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $110.00 to $138.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target 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. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $138.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $126.56.

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.