Avnet, Inc. $AVT Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc reduced its Avnet stake by 18.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 40,263 shares and leaving it with 172,313 shares worth about $8.3 million.
• Avnet’s CEO Philip R. Gallagher sold 23,920 shares for about $2.0 million, while institutional investors still own 95.78% of the company and analyst sentiment remains generally positive.
• The company beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, and it also announced a $0.35 quarterly dividend payable June 17, implying a 1.6% annual yield.

Legal & General Group Plc decreased its position in Avnet, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVT - Free Report) by 18.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 172,313 shares of the company's stock after selling 40,263 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.21% of Avnet worth $8,285,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AVT. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Avnet by 34.8% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,265,679 shares of the company's stock worth $117,974,000 after buying an additional 585,141 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Avnet by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,783,059 shares of the company's stock valued at $563,738,000 after acquiring an additional 214,290 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management increased its holdings in Avnet by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,811,171 shares of the company's stock valued at $135,161,000 after acquiring an additional 197,400 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Avnet by 86.9% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 373,422 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,523,000 after acquiring an additional 173,579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Avnet by 13.9% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,041,359 shares of the company's stock worth $54,442,000 after acquiring an additional 127,118 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.78% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Avnet news, CEO Philip R. Gallagher sold 23,920 shares of Avnet stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.92, for a total value of $1,983,446.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 145,003 shares in the company, valued at $12,023,648.76. This trade represents a 14.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on AVT shares. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Avnet in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Bank of America raised Avnet from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the company from $66.00 to $96.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Avnet to $95.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Avnet from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Avnet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, May 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $89.00.

Avnet Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:AVT opened at $86.81 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market cap of $7.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.78, a PEG ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.08. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $77.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.05. Avnet, Inc. has a 12-month low of $44.25 and a 12-month high of $95.26.

Avnet (NASDAQ:AVT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.15. Avnet had a net margin of 0.86% and a return on equity of 7.07%. The company had revenue of $7.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.84 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 34.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Avnet has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 1.700-1.800 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Avnet, Inc. will post 5.12 EPS for the current year.

Avnet Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Avnet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.47%.

Avnet Profile

Avnet, Inc NASDAQ: AVT is a global technology distributor and solutions provider specializing in the sourcing, design, and supply chain management of electronic components and embedded systems. The company offers a broad portfolio of semiconductors, interconnect, passive and electromechanical components, as well as embedded hardware and software, cloud solutions, and Internet of Things (IoT) services. Avnet's offerings aim to support customers through every stage of the product lifecycle, from initial prototype and design to production and end-of-life management.

Founded in 1921 by Charles Avnet, the company has evolved from a regional radio parts supplier into a multinational enterprise.

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