Merit Financial Group LLC Makes New Investment in IPG Photonics Co. (NASDAQ:IPGP)

Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in IPG Photonics Co. (NASDAQ:IPGP - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 5,439 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $343,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in IPG Photonics by 355.7% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,048 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 818 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in IPG Photonics by 463.5% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,065 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 876 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in IPG Photonics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $87,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in IPG Photonics by 52.8% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,656 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $120,000 after acquiring an additional 572 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in IPG Photonics by 90.7% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,819 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $115,000 after acquiring an additional 865 shares during the period. 93.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

IPG Photonics Stock Down 3.3%

Shares of NASDAQ IPGP traded down $2.28 during trading on Friday, hitting $65.91. 161,275 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 295,270. IPG Photonics Co. has a 1 year low of $48.59 and a 1 year high of $92.21. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $61.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.80 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.77 and a beta of 0.90.

IPG Photonics (NASDAQ:IPGP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $227.79 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $227.00 million. IPG Photonics had a negative net margin of 18.58% and a positive return on equity of 2.98%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. Research analysts predict that IPG Photonics Co. will post 1.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

IPG Photonics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of IPG Photonics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of IPG Photonics from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price objective on shares of IPG Photonics in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of IPG Photonics from $62.00 to $60.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, CL King raised shares of IPG Photonics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $76.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, IPG Photonics presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $69.50.

About IPG Photonics

IPG Photonics Corporation develops, manufactures, and sells various high-performance fiber lasers, fiber amplifiers, and diode lasers used in various applications primarily in materials processing worldwide. Its laser products include hybrid fiber-solid state lasers with green and ultraviolet wavelengths; fiber pigtailed packaged diodes and fiber coupled direct diode laser systems; high-energy pulsed lasers, multi-wavelength and tunable lasers, and single-polarization and single-frequency lasers; and high-power optical fiber delivery cables, fiber couplers, beam switches, chillers, scanners, and other accessories.