ProShare Advisors LLC Grows Stake in Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS)

ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS - Free Report) by 44.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,285 shares of the electronics maker's stock after acquiring an additional 3,471 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC's holdings in Advanced Energy Industries were worth $1,305,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its position in Advanced Energy Industries by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 3,853 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $446,000 after buying an additional 580 shares in the last quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH boosted its position in Advanced Energy Industries by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 139,556 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $16,137,000 after buying an additional 12,860 shares in the last quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management boosted its position in Advanced Energy Industries by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 7,127 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $824,000 after buying an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Advanced Energy Industries by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,008 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $579,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Compass Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Advanced Energy Industries by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC now owns 68,838 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $7,960,000 after buying an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Advanced Energy Industries Trading Up 3.1%

NASDAQ AEIS traded up $3.49 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $117.36. 19,920 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 265,274. Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. has a one year low of $75.01 and a one year high of $132.16. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $100.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $110.65. The stock has a market cap of $4.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 81.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 4.42 and a quick ratio of 3.27.

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The electronics maker reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.26. Advanced Energy Industries had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 8.90%. The firm had revenue of $404.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $392.36 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.58 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 23.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. will post 3.66 EPS for the current year.

Advanced Energy Industries Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $145.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Advanced Energy Industries from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $124.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report 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 on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $130.00 price target (down previously from $135.00) on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $124.67.

Insider Transactions at Advanced Energy Industries

In other Advanced Energy Industries news, COO Eduardo Bernal Acebedo sold 19,309 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.61, for a total value 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 approximately $2,212,333.42. This represents a 49.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.