Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Purchases New Holdings in Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS)

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 6,591 shares of the electronics maker's stock, valued at approximately $763,000.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Advanced Energy Industries by 4.2% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,971,000. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lifted its stake in Advanced Energy Industries by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 139,556 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $16,137,000 after purchasing an additional 12,860 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in Advanced Energy Industries by 192.6% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 19,405 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $2,303,000 after buying an additional 12,773 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Advanced Energy Industries in the fourth quarter worth approximately $487,000. 99.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AEIS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on Advanced Energy Industries from $145.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup upgraded Advanced Energy Industries from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $110.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of Advanced Energy Industries from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a "buy" rating and set a $130.00 price target (down previously from $135.00) on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given 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 price target of $124.44.

Advanced Energy Industries Stock Up 2.8 %

NASDAQ:AEIS traded up $2.98 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $111.29. The stock had a trading volume of 550,409 shares, compared to its average volume of 260,462. The stock has a market cap of $4.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.83, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.47. The business's 50 day moving average is $98.68 and its 200 day moving average is $110.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 4.42 and a quick ratio of 3.27. Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.01 and a fifty-two week high of $132.16.

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The electronics maker reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $404.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $392.36 million. Advanced Energy Industries had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 8.90%. Advanced Energy Industries's revenue for the quarter was up 23.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.58 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. will post 3.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Advanced Energy Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Saturday, May 24th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Advanced Energy Industries's payout ratio is 27.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Lanesha Minnix sold 1,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was 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 owns 3,492 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $451,760.04. The trade was a 31.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Eduardo Bernal Acebedo sold 19,309 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 19,822 shares in the company, 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 1.20% 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.