Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Reduces Stock Holdings in Viasat Inc. $VSAT

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp cut its stake in Viasat by 46.5% in Q4, selling 19,267 shares and finishing the quarter with 22,209 shares valued at $765,000.
• Company insiders have been net sellers, offloading 38,071 shares worth about $1.8 million in the last three months (including SVPs Craig Miller and Robert Blair), leaving insiders with 2.20% ownership.
• Analysts have raised targets and ratings recently—six Buy, one Hold, one Sell—giving Viasat an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $60.57, with recent targets as high as $94.

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lowered its position in Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT - Free Report) by 46.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,209 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 19,267 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp's holdings in Viasat were worth $765,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VSAT. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Viasat during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in Viasat during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in Viasat by 6,815.4% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 899 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 886 shares in the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Viasat during the 3rd quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Viasat by 7,380.0% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,244 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 2,214 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.05% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on VSAT shares. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on Viasat from $45.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Barclays upgraded Viasat from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $23.00 to $49.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. B. Riley Financial lifted their price objective on Viasat from $52.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Viasat in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Viasat in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $60.57.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Craig Andrew Miller sold 5,260 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $263,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 21,252 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,062,600. The trade was a 19.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Robert James Blair sold 30,411 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.04, for a total value of $1,430,533.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 38,108 shares in the company, valued at $1,792,600.32. This represents a 44.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 38,071 shares of company stock valued at $1,804,437 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Viasat Stock Up 2.7%

VSAT opened at $65.57 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -25.32 and a beta of 1.66. The business has a 50-day moving average of $52.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.52. Viasat Inc. has a 12 month low of $8.61 and a 12 month high of $66.75.

About Viasat

Viasat, Inc NASDAQ: VSAT provides high‐capacity satellite broadband and wireless communications services to consumer, commercial and government customers worldwide. The company designs and operates satellite systems and network infrastructure to deliver secure, high-speed connectivity across remote and underserved regions, as well as managed networking solutions for enterprises and public sector agencies.

Viasat's product offerings include residential and enterprise satellite internet services, in-flight connectivity for commercial airlines and business jets, and secure networking platforms tailored to defense and intelligence users.

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