D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Sells 34,795 Shares of Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. trimmed its holdings in Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS - Free Report) by 43.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,307 shares of the electronics maker's stock after selling 34,795 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned about 0.12% of Advanced Energy Industries worth $5,239,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Advanced Energy Industries by 61.6% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 354 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries during the 4th quarter valued at about $74,000. Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in Advanced Energy Industries by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 989 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $114,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Advanced Energy Industries by 26.3% during the fourth 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. Institutional investors own 99.67% of the company's stock.

Advanced Energy Industries Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AEIS traded up $1.30 during trading on Thursday, reaching $117.30. The company had a trading volume of 28,857 shares, compared to its average volume of 265,022. Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.01 and a 52 week high of $132.16. The business's 50 day moving average price is $100.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $110.71. The stock has a market cap of $4.42 billion, a PE ratio of 81.67, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.50. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The electronics maker reported $1.23 earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations 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 was up 23.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.58 EPS. Analysts expect that Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. will post 3.66 earnings per share for the current 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.34%. Advanced Energy Industries's payout ratio is presently 20.62%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Eduardo Bernal Acebedo sold 19,309 shares of Advanced Energy Industries 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 of the company's stock, valued at $2,212,333.42. The trade was a 49.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Advanced Energy Industries from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Advanced Energy Industries from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $130.00 price objective (down previously from $135.00) on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $138.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $124.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $124.67.

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.