Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 1,693 Shares of Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS)

Key Points

• Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its stake in Advanced Energy Industries by 13.3%, holding 10,994 shares valued at approximately $1,048,000.
• EVP Paul R. Oldham and EVP John Donaghey sold shares of Advanced Energy Industries, experiencing ownership decreases of 3.65% and 15.35%, respectively.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Advanced Energy Industries, with the average target now at $138.90 and ratings reflecting a consensus of "Moderate Buy".

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System decreased its position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS - Free Report) by 13.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,994 shares of the electronics maker's stock after selling 1,693 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in Advanced Energy Industries were worth $1,048,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEIS. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position 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 buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in Advanced Energy Industries in the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Advanced Energy Industries in the fourth quarter worth approximately $51,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Advanced Energy Industries by 71.5% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 559 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new position in Advanced Energy Industries in the first quarter worth approximately $78,000. Institutional investors own 99.67% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $138.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $118.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Advanced Energy Industries and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $138.90.

Advanced Energy Industries Stock Down 5.2%

Shares of AEIS stock traded down $8.48 on Friday, hitting $153.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 190,243 shares, compared to its average volume of 357,170. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 4.09 and a quick ratio of 2.97. Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.01 and a fifty-two week high of $163.07. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $137.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $117.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.52.

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The electronics maker reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $441.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $421.32 million. Advanced Energy Industries had a net margin of 5.13% and a return on equity of 12.38%. Advanced Energy Industries's quarterly revenue was up 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.85 EPS. Research analysts anticipate 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, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 25th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Advanced Energy Industries's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.10%.

Insider Transactions at Advanced Energy Industries

In other news, EVP John Donaghey sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $280,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,544,060. This represents a 15.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Paul R. Oldham sold 1,173 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.29, for a total transaction of $154,003.17. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 31,006 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,070,777.74. This represents a 3.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,173 shares of company stock valued at $594,733 in the last ninety days. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.