The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Has $89.57 Million Holdings in Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS - Free Report) by 21.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 774,586 shares of the electronics maker's stock after acquiring an additional 138,814 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 2.06% of Advanced Energy Industries worth $89,565,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AEIS. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Advanced Energy Industries by 535.3% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 216 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in Advanced Energy Industries by 61.6% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 354 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Advanced Energy Industries during the 4th quarter worth $51,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Advanced Energy Industries during the 4th quarter worth $74,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Advanced Energy Industries by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 989 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $114,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. 99.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Advanced Energy Industries Price Performance

Shares of AEIS stock traded up $2.98 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $111.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 550,409 shares, compared to its average volume of 260,458. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 3.27 and a current ratio of 4.42. The firm's 50-day moving average is $98.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $110.15. Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.01 and a 1-year high of $132.16. The company has a market cap of $4.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.83, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.47.

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The electronics maker reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $392.36 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.58 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 23.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. will post 3.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Advanced Energy Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, May 24th will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Advanced Energy Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Lanesha Minnix sold 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now owns 3,492 shares in the company, valued at $451,760.04. This trade represents a 31.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Eduardo Bernal Acebedo sold 19,309 shares of Advanced Energy Industries stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.61, for a total transaction 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 $2,212,333.42. This represents a 49.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on AEIS. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a "buy" rating and set a $130.00 price objective (down previously from $135.00) on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Advanced Energy Industries from $124.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup upgraded shares of Advanced Energy Industries from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $110.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $145.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Advanced Energy Industries currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $124.44.

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.