Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Reduces Position in Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P trimmed its stake in Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 647,060 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 19,446 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in Advanced Energy Industries were worth $74,820,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Advanced Energy Industries by 535.3% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 216 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Advanced Energy Industries in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Advanced Energy Industries during the 4th quarter worth approximately $74,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Advanced Energy Industries by 26.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,023 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $108,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Advanced Energy Industries by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 989 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Advanced Energy Industries Stock Down 2.8 %

NASDAQ AEIS opened at $105.12 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $114.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $112.34. Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. has a one year low of $89.12 and a one year high of $132.16. The company has a market capitalization of $3.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 73.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.43. 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 (NASDAQ:AEIS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The electronics maker reported $1.06 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. will post 3.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Energy Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. Advanced Energy Industries’s payout ratio is 27.97%.

Insider Activity

In other Advanced Energy Industries news, 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 transaction, the director now 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Eduardo Bernal Acebedo sold 19,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.61, for a total transaction of $2,155,077.49. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 19,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,212,333.42. This trade represents a 49.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Advanced Energy Industries from $138.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on 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. Bank of America upgraded Advanced Energy Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $140.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Citigroup raised Advanced Energy Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $110.00 to $138.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Four research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $126.56.

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.