Balyasny Asset Management L.P. Decreases Stake in Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS)

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. decreased its holdings in Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS - Free Report) by 11.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 50,460 shares of the electronics maker's stock after selling 6,491 shares during the quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. owned 0.13% of Advanced Energy Industries worth $5,835,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries during the 4th quarter worth approximately $68,949,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 21.8% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 774,586 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $89,565,000 after purchasing an additional 138,814 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Advanced Energy Industries in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $9,864,000. Southernsun Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Advanced Energy Industries by 240.5% in the 4th quarter. Southernsun Asset Management LLC now owns 115,668 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $13,375,000 after buying an additional 81,697 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Advanced Energy Industries by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,913,669 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $568,168,000 after buying an additional 69,908 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.67% of the company's stock.

Advanced Energy Industries Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AEIS traded down $0.50 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $118.26. The stock had a trading volume of 58,023 shares, compared to its average volume of 263,897. The company has a market capitalization of $4.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $99.16 and a 200-day moving average of $110.49. Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.01 and a 12-month 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.

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS - Get Free Report) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $404.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $392.36 million. Advanced Energy Industries had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 8.90%. The business's revenue was up 23.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.58 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. will post 3.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Energy Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 26th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Advanced Energy Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AEIS. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $130.00 price objective (down from $135.00) on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of 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. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $138.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $124.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Four investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $124.67.

Insider Transactions at Advanced Energy Industries

In related news, COO Eduardo Bernal Acebedo sold 19,309 shares of the 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 approximately $2,212,333.42. This represents a 49.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 transaction of $206,992.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,492 shares in the company, valued at $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. Insiders own 1.20% 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.