Pzena Investment Management LLC Sells 105,548 Shares of Avnet, Inc. $AVT

Key Points

• Pzena Investment Management reduced its Avnet stake by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 105,548 shares but still holding 7,037,798 shares worth about $338.4 million. Avnet remains a significant position for the fund, representing roughly 1.0% of its portfolio.
• Avnet’s fundamentals and recent results were solid: the company beat quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, with EPS of $1.48 on revenue of $7.12 billion, and revenue rose 34% year over year. It also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, yielding about 1.7%.
• Analysts remain mixed but generally constructive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.00. Recent actions included target increases from Wells Fargo and Truist, while some firms maintained or adjusted less bullish ratings.

Pzena Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in Avnet, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVT - Free Report) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,037,798 shares of the company's stock after selling 105,548 shares during the period. Avnet comprises approximately 1.0% of Pzena Investment Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Pzena Investment Management LLC owned approximately 8.60% of Avnet worth $338,377,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AVT. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Avnet by 132.7% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 526 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. BOKF NA raised its holdings in shares of Avnet by 1,116.7% in the third quarter. BOKF NA now owns 584 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Avnet by 53.7% in the third quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 673 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in shares of Avnet by 53.9% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 737 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of Avnet by 199.1% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 700 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. 95.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Avnet

In other news, CEO Philip R. Gallagher sold 23,920 shares of Avnet stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.92, for a total transaction of $1,983,446.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 145,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,023,648.76. The trade was a 14.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AVT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Avnet from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Avnet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of Avnet in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Avnet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, May 10th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Avnet to $95.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Avnet presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $89.00.

Avnet Price Performance

NASDAQ:AVT opened at $83.40 on Friday. Avnet, Inc. has a 1-year low of $44.25 and a 1-year high of $87.46. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $71.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.84 billion, a PE ratio of 32.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.09.

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

Avnet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 3rd. Avnet's payout ratio is currently 54.47%.

Avnet Company 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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