Sora Investors LLC Acquires 87,114 Shares of Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS)

Sora Investors LLC boosted its holdings in Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS - Free Report) by 193.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 132,114 shares of the electronics maker's stock after acquiring an additional 87,114 shares during the quarter. Advanced Energy Industries accounts for about 1.7% of Sora Investors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Sora Investors LLC owned about 0.35% of Advanced Energy Industries worth $15,276,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Advanced Energy Industries by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,913,669 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $568,168,000 after acquiring an additional 69,908 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Advanced Energy Industries by 21.8% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 774,586 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $89,565,000 after acquiring an additional 138,814 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Advanced Energy Industries in the fourth quarter valued at about $68,949,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Advanced Energy Industries by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 460,121 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $53,204,000 after acquiring an additional 18,533 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Advanced Energy Industries by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 457,759 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $52,931,000 after acquiring an additional 53,692 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.67% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Advanced Energy Industries news, COO Eduardo Bernal Acebedo sold 19,309 shares of the firm'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 directly owns 19,822 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,212,333.42. This trade represents a 49.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $206,992.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $451,760.04. The trade was a 31.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AEIS. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $138.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of Advanced Energy Industries from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $130.00 price objective (down from $135.00) on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on Advanced Energy Industries from $145.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $124.67.

Advanced Energy Industries Price Performance

Shares of AEIS traded down $1.18 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $116.97. 176,433 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 265,553. Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. has a one year low of $75.01 and a one year high of $132.16. The company has a current ratio of 4.42, a quick ratio of 3.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The business has a 50-day moving average of $99.46 and a 200 day moving average of $110.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.80, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.50.

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

Advanced Energy Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 (DPR) is currently 20.62%.

Advanced Energy Industries Company 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.