Channing Capital Management LLC Invests $70.72 Million in IPG Photonics Co. (NASDAQ:IPGP)

Channing Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of IPG Photonics Co. (NASDAQ:IPGP - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 651,546 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $70,719,000. IPG Photonics makes up about 2.1% of Channing Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Channing Capital Management LLC owned about 1.39% of IPG Photonics as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of IPG Photonics by 2.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,039,073 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $308,587,000 after purchasing an additional 85,984 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of IPG Photonics by 9.6% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 836,794 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $84,968,000 after purchasing an additional 73,182 shares during the period. Trillium Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of IPG Photonics by 3.4% in the third quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC now owns 248,273 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $25,210,000 after purchasing an additional 8,098 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of IPG Photonics by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 214,778 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $23,312,000 after purchasing an additional 4,775 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of IPG Photonics by 636.6% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 204,502 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $22,197,000 after purchasing an additional 176,739 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.79% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IPGP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Benchmark decreased their target price on shares of IPG Photonics from $116.00 to $106.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of IPG Photonics in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of IPG Photonics from $74.00 to $68.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of IPG Photonics from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of IPG Photonics in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $110.40.

Insider Activity at IPG Photonics

In related news, major shareholder Valentin Gapontsev Trust I sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.68, for a total value of $856,800.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,219,599 shares of the company's stock, valued at $618,575,242.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Valentin Gapontsev Trust I sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.68, for a total value of $856,800.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,219,599 shares of the company's stock, valued at $618,575,242.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Eric Meurice sold 788 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.30, for a total transaction of $70,368.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,472,646.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,788 shares of company stock valued at $2,595,508 over the last 90 days. 37.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

IPG Photonics Stock Performance

Shares of IPGP traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $86.76. 253,550 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 230,527. The company has a market cap of $3.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.36, a P/E/G ratio of 19.82 and a beta of 1.17. IPG Photonics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $80.33 and a fifty-two week high of $141.85. The stock's 50-day moving average is $87.69 and its 200-day moving average is $93.96.

IPG Photonics (NASDAQ:IPGP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $252.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $255.53 million. IPG Photonics had a net margin of 15.34% and a return on equity of 7.67%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 27.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.26 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that IPG Photonics Co. will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

IPG Photonics declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, February 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 7.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

About IPG Photonics

IPG Photonics Corporation develops, manufactures, and sells various high-performance fiber lasers, fiber amplifiers, and diode lasers used in various applications primarily in materials processing worldwide. Its laser products include hybrid fiber-solid state lasers with green and ultraviolet wavelengths; fiber pigtailed packaged diodes and fiber coupled direct diode laser systems; high-energy pulsed lasers, multi-wavelength and tunable lasers, and single-polarization and single-frequency lasers; and high-power optical fiber delivery cables, fiber couplers, beam switches, chillers, scanners, and other accessories.

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