Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC Takes $253,000 Position in Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS)

Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 2,656 shares of the electronics maker's stock, valued at approximately $253,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AEIS. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,169 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $207,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 65.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,032 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $194,000 after acquiring an additional 801 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in Advanced Energy Industries by 13.9% during the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 6,372 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $607,000 after buying an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Advanced Energy Industries by 6.7% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,622 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $536,000 after buying an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 8.0% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,500 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Advanced Energy Industries

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AEIS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Needham & Company LLC decreased 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 research note on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $138.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a "buy" rating and set a $130.00 price target (down previously from $135.00) on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $130.20.

Advanced Energy Industries Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AEIS traded down $2.37 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $139.11. 482,874 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 285,310. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 4.43 and a quick ratio of 3.28. Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.01 and a 52-week high of $144.54. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $124.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $113.72. The company has a market cap of $5.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.71, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.52.

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The electronics maker reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 10.70% and a net margin of 4.73%. Advanced Energy Industries's quarterly revenue was up 23.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.58 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. will post 3.66 EPS for the current year.

Advanced Energy Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 26th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.29%. 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.