Insider Selling: Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS) Director Sells 1,600 Shares of Stock

Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS) Director Lanesha Minnix sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the director now owns 3,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $451,760.04. This represents a 31.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Advanced Energy Industries Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AEIS opened at $131.54 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $4.96 billion, a PE ratio of 91.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.45. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $118.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $111.01. Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. has a twelve month low of $89.11 and a twelve month high of $131.64.

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The electronics maker reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.09 by ($0.03). Advanced Energy Industries had a return on equity of 8.90% and a net margin of 3.66%. Equities research analysts expect that Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. will post 3.78 EPS for the current year.

Advanced Energy Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 24th. Advanced Energy Industries’s payout ratio is 27.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AEIS shares. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup upgraded Advanced Energy Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $110.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Advanced Energy Industries from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Advanced Energy Industries from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their target price on Advanced Energy Industries from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given 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 $126.56.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in 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 worth $568,168,000 after acquiring an additional 69,908 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 1.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 884,402 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $93,094,000 after purchasing an additional 15,030 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 21.8% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 774,586 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $89,565,000 after purchasing an additional 138,814 shares during the period. Summit Partners Public Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries during the 4th quarter valued at $71,494,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Advanced Energy Industries in the 4th quarter worth $68,949,000. 99.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Advanced Energy Industries

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.