Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS) Shares Sold by Lord Abbett & CO. LLC

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC trimmed its position in Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS - Free Report) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 400,481 shares of the electronics maker's stock after selling 3,198 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned approximately 1.06% of Advanced Energy Industries worth $46,308,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. purchased a new position in Advanced Energy Industries during the 4th quarter worth $763,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries during the fourth quarter worth about $330,000. Southernsun Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 240.5% during the fourth quarter. Southernsun Asset Management LLC now owns 115,668 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $13,375,000 after acquiring an additional 81,697 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 11,036 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $1,276,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $51,000. 99.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Advanced Energy Industries news, COO Eduardo Bernal Acebedo sold 19,309 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,212,333.42. The trade was a 49.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lanesha Minnix sold 1,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.37, for a total value of $206,992.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $451,760.04. This trade represents a 31.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AEIS shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price target 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. StockNews.com lowered Advanced Energy Industries from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target 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. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on Advanced Energy Industries from $145.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $130.00 target price (down previously from $135.00) on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $124.44.

Advanced Energy Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AEIS traded up $15.04 during trading on Thursday, hitting $112.45. 527,542 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 258,281. The company has a quick ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 4.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $99.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $110.14. Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.01 and a 52-week high of $132.16. The company has a market cap of $4.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.47.

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The electronics maker reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $404.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $392.36 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.58 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 23.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. will post 3.66 EPS for the current year.

Advanced Energy Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, May 24th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Advanced Energy Industries's payout ratio is currently 27.97%.

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.