William Blair Investment Management LLC Sells 54,866 Shares of Avnet, Inc. $AVT

Key Points

• William Blair Investment Management trimmed its Avnet stake by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 54,866 shares and leaving it with 538,841 shares worth about $25.9 million.
• Avnet’s latest earnings beat expectations, with Q1 EPS of $1.48 versus $1.33 expected and revenue of $7.12 billion topping estimates; revenue jumped 34% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, and several analysts remain constructive, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $89.

William Blair Investment Management LLC decreased its position in Avnet, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVT - Free Report) by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 538,841 shares of the company's stock after selling 54,866 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned 0.66% of Avnet worth $25,907,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased 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 worth $563,738,000 after purchasing an additional 214,290 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Avnet by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,751,726 shares of the company's stock worth $196,140,000 after purchasing an additional 124,466 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management increased its stake in Avnet by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,811,171 shares of the company's stock worth $135,161,000 after purchasing an additional 197,400 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Avnet by 34.8% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,265,679 shares of the company's stock worth $117,974,000 after purchasing an additional 585,141 shares during the period. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Avnet by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 2,011,676 shares of the company's stock worth $105,170,000 after purchasing an additional 101,873 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.78% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on AVT. Zacks Research raised Avnet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Avnet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Avnet from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings cut Avnet from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on Avnet to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Avnet presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $89.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Philip R. Gallagher sold 23,920 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 145,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,023,648.76. The trade was a 14.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company's stock.

Avnet Price Performance

AVT opened at $85.91 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 2.01. Avnet, Inc. has a 52-week low of $44.25 and a 52-week high of $87.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.05 billion, a PE ratio of 33.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.09. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $72.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.52.

Avnet (NASDAQ:AVT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.15. Avnet had a return on equity of 7.07% and a net margin of 0.86%.The firm had revenue of $7.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.84 earnings per share. The business's 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, equities research analysts predict that Avnet, Inc. will post 5.12 EPS for the current 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Avnet's payout ratio is 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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