Avnet Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:AVT)

Key Points

• Avnet saw a remarkable increase in put options trading, with 2,461 contracts purchased, a rise of approximately 10,154% from the average volume of 24 options.
• The company's stock price fell 4.6% to $52.03 on Tuesday, amid an overall trading volume of 188,333 shares.
• Avnet recently announced a dividend increase, with a quarterly payout of $0.35 per share, raising its annualized dividend to $1.40 and yielding 2.7%.

Avnet, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVT - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders bought 2,461 put options on the stock. Thisrepresentsanincreaseof10,154% compared to the average daily volume of 24 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Avnet from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Avnet from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Sell" and a consensus price target of $49.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avnet

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AVT. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Avnet in the second quarter valued at approximately $51,495,000. Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Avnet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,097,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Avnet by 149.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 701,957 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,726,000 after purchasing an additional 421,098 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised 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 valued at $186,631,000 after purchasing an additional 378,440 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Avnet by 25.9% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,680,538 shares of the company's stock valued at $88,312,000 after purchasing an additional 345,721 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.78% of the company's stock.

Avnet Stock Up 0.4%

AVT traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $53.77. 1,228,215 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 937,869. The company has a market cap of $4.49 billion, a PE ratio of 19.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.08. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $54.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.43 and a quick ratio of 1.16. Avnet has a one year low of $39.22 and a one year high of $59.24.

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

Avnet Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 17th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This is a positive change from Avnet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 17th. Avnet's payout ratio is 48.35%.

About Avnet

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.