85,305 Shares in Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS) Acquired by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 85,305 shares of the electronics maker’s stock, valued at approximately $9,864,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.23% of Advanced Energy Industries as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 535.3% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 216 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries during the third quarter worth $41,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries during the fourth quarter worth $74,000. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 989 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $114,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 26.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,023 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $108,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the period. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Advanced Energy Industries Stock Down 0.5 %

Advanced Energy Industries stock opened at $105.26 on Friday. Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. has a 1-year low of $89.12 and a 1-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 stock has a market cap of $3.99 billion, a PE ratio of 73.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.43. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $115.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $112.02.

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

Advanced Energy Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. Advanced Energy Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.97%.

Insider Transactions at Advanced Energy Industries

In other news, Director Lanesha Minnix sold 1,600 shares of Advanced Energy Industries stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $451,760.04. The trade was a 31.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Eduardo Bernal Acebedo sold 19,309 shares of Advanced Energy Industries stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.61, for a total value of $2,155,077.49. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 19,822 shares in the company, valued at $2,212,333.42. This trade represents a 49.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on AEIS shares. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Advanced Energy Industries from $138.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Advanced Energy Industries from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Bank of America upgraded Advanced Energy Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $140.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price 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. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Advanced Energy Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $110.00 to $138.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Four investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $126.56.

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.