MetLife Investment Management LLC Raises Position in Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS)

MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,591 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after buying an additional 1,004 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Advanced Energy Industries worth $2,612,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AEIS. Synovus Financial Corp raised its holdings in Advanced Energy Industries by 19.9% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 6,669 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $702,000 after acquiring an additional 1,107 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC raised its holdings in Advanced Energy Industries by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 403,679 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $42,483,000 after acquiring an additional 23,395 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Advanced Energy Industries by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 483,848 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $50,920,000 after acquiring an additional 53,566 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Advanced Energy Industries by 535.3% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 216 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Advanced Energy Industries by 30.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,231 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $142,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AEIS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of 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. Citigroup raised shares of Advanced Energy Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $110.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $145.00 price objective on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Advanced Energy Industries from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Advanced Energy Industries from $136.00 to $124.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.22.

Insider Transactions at Advanced Energy Industries

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 transaction of $2,155,077.49. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Lanesha Minnix sold 1,600 shares of Advanced Energy Industries stock in a transaction on 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 $451,760.04. This represents a 31.42 % 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.

Advanced Energy Industries Price Performance

AEIS stock opened at $100.67 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $101.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $110.39. Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.01 and a 12-month 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 company has a market capitalization of $3.81 billion, a PE ratio of 70.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.47.

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The electronics maker reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 anticipate that Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. will post 3.66 EPS for the current year.

Advanced Energy Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. Advanced Energy Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.97%.

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.