Gotham Asset Management LLC Increases Stake in Avnet, Inc. $AVT

Key Points

• Gotham Asset Management LLC significantly increased its stake in Avnet, Inc. by 96.1%, owning 369,807 shares valued at approximately $17.8 million.
• Avnet declared a $0.35 quarterly dividend, marking an increase from the previous $0.33, which results in an annual yield of 2.6%.
• Despite recent growth, analysts have given Avnet a consensus rating of "Sell", with a target price of $49.00.

Gotham Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Avnet, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVT - Free Report) by 96.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 369,807 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 181,246 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC owned about 0.44% of Avnet worth $17,784,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AVT. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Avnet by 10.8% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,880,865 shares of the company's stock worth $186,631,000 after purchasing an additional 378,440 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Avnet by 5.5% in the first quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 2,581,227 shares of the company's stock worth $124,131,000 after purchasing an additional 134,372 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Avnet by 3.4% in the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,520,075 shares of the company's stock worth $73,100,000 after purchasing an additional 50,041 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Avnet by 7.9% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,334,817 shares of the company's stock worth $63,043,000 after purchasing an additional 97,466 shares during the period. Finally, Lind Value II ApS boosted its position in shares of Avnet by 15.6% in the first quarter. Lind Value II ApS now owns 1,003,897 shares of the company's stock worth $48,277,000 after purchasing an additional 135,135 shares during the period. 95.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avnet Price Performance

AVT stock traded down $0.23 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $53.13. 772,838 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 858,222. Avnet, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.22 and a 52 week high of $59.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 2.43. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.08.

Avnet (NASDAQ:AVT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.09. Avnet had a net margin of 1.08% and a return on equity of 6.07%. The business had revenue of $5.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.22 earnings per share. Avnet's quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Avnet, Inc. will post 3.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avnet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 17th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. This is an increase from Avnet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 17th. Avnet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Avnet from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Avnet from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Avnet presently has an average rating of "Sell" and an average target price of $49.00.

Avnet Profile

Avnet, Inc, distributes electronic component technology. The company operates through two segments, Electronic Components and Farnell. The Electronic Components segment markets, sells, and distributes semiconductors; interconnect, passive, and electromechanical components; and other integrated components from electronic component manufacturers.