Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Makes New Investment in Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,901 shares of the electronics maker's stock, valued at approximately $335,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries in the fourth quarter worth about $68,949,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in Advanced Energy Industries by 21.8% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 774,586 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $89,565,000 after purchasing an additional 138,814 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Advanced Energy Industries during the 4th quarter worth $9,864,000. Southernsun Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Advanced Energy Industries by 240.5% in the 4th quarter. Southernsun Asset Management LLC now owns 115,668 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $13,375,000 after buying an additional 81,697 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,913,669 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $568,168,000 after buying an additional 69,908 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.67% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Advanced Energy Industries news, Director Lanesha Minnix sold 1,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.37, for a total transaction of $206,992.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,492 shares of the company's stock, valued at $451,760.04. This represents a 31.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Eduardo Bernal Acebedo sold 19,309 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective 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, May 1st. Citigroup increased their price target on Advanced Energy Industries from $138.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on Advanced Energy Industries from $145.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $130.00 target price (down from $135.00) on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Advanced Energy Industries from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $124.67.

Advanced Energy Industries Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:AEIS traded up $1.19 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $118.16. The company had a trading volume of 13,919 shares, compared to its average volume of 264,563. Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. has a one year low of $75.01 and a one year high of $132.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 4.42 and a quick ratio of 3.27. The company has a market capitalization of $4.45 billion, a PE ratio of 82.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $99.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $110.62.

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The electronics maker reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $404.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $392.36 million. Advanced Energy Industries had a return on equity of 8.90% and a net margin of 3.66%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 23.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.58 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. will post 3.66 EPS for the current year.

Advanced Energy Industries Announces Dividend

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

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.