Northern Trust Corp Buys 53,692 Shares of Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS)

Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS - Free Report) by 13.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 457,759 shares of the electronics maker's stock after purchasing an additional 53,692 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned about 1.22% of Advanced Energy Industries worth $52,931,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AEIS. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Advanced Energy Industries by 535.3% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 216 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 61.6% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 354 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $74,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 26.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,023 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $108,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the period. 99.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AEIS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $124.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $145.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Advanced Energy Industries from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $130.00 price objective (down from $135.00) on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $138.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $124.67.

Insider Activity

In other Advanced Energy Industries news, Director Lanesha Minnix sold 1,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $451,760.04. This trade represents a 31.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Eduardo Bernal Acebedo sold 19,309 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 19,822 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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.

Advanced Energy Industries Price Performance

NASDAQ AEIS traded up $2.16 on Tuesday, hitting $119.54. The stock had a trading volume of 42,607 shares, compared to its average volume of 262,120. Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.01 and a 52-week high of $132.16. 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 company has a market capitalization of $4.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 83.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $98.43 and a 200-day moving average of $110.29.

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The electronics maker reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.26. Advanced Energy Industries had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 8.90%. The business had revenue of $404.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $392.36 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.58 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 23.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. will post 3.66 EPS for the current year.

Advanced Energy Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 26th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Advanced Energy Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.62%.

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.