Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 30,359 Shares of Viavi Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAV)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Viavi Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAV - Free Report) by 2.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,106,034 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 30,359 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.50% of Viavi Solutions worth $12,377,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Viavi Solutions by 38.1% in the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 12,967 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $145,000 after purchasing an additional 3,579 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Viavi Solutions by 1,429.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 39,008 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $436,000 after purchasing an additional 36,457 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Viavi Solutions by 185.5% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 111,730 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $1,132,000 after buying an additional 72,599 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Viavi Solutions by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,334,893 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $33,682,000 after purchasing an additional 139,934 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of Viavi Solutions by 201.2% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 49,200 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $497,000 after buying an additional 32,867 shares in the last quarter. 95.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on VIAV. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Viavi Solutions from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "buy" rating and issued a $13.50 price objective on shares of Viavi Solutions in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $15.00 price objective on shares of Viavi Solutions in a report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Viavi Solutions from $11.50 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Viavi Solutions from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $12.69.

Viavi Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of Viavi Solutions stock traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $10.10. 657,463 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,914,731. Viavi Solutions Inc. has a 12-month low of $7.03 and a 12-month high of $12.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 504.50 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.32.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Richard Belluzzo sold 8,385 shares of Viavi Solutions stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.02, for a total transaction of $84,017.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 242,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,427,956.22. This trade represents a 3.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Viavi Solutions

Viavi Solutions, Inc engages in the provision of network test, monitoring, and assurance solutions for communications service providers, enterprises, network equipment manufacturers, government and avionics. It operates through the following segments: Network Enablement, Service Enablement, and Optical Security and Performance.