Earnest Partners LLC Boosts Stake in Avnet, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVT)

Earnest Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Avnet, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVT) by 2.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,442,681 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 29,710 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC owned about 1.60% of Avnet worth $71,528,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Avnet by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,950,336 shares of the company’s stock worth $542,918,000 after buying an additional 519,478 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Avnet by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,253,451 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,175,000 after buying an additional 157,709 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in shares of Avnet by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,083,424 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,605,000 after buying an additional 41,951 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Avnet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $51,065,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Avnet by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 897,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,243,000 after acquiring an additional 9,765 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.78% of the company’s stock.

Avnet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AVT traded up $0.34 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $53.18. The company had a trading volume of 516,105 shares, compared to its average volume of 604,091. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 2.33 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company has a market cap of $4.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.61 and a beta of 1.16. Avnet, Inc. has a 12-month low of $42.67 and a 12-month high of $55.46. The company has a fifty day moving average of $52.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.63.

Avnet (NASDAQ:AVT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $5.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.71 billion. Avnet had a return on equity of 11.64% and a net margin of 2.31%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.00 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Avnet, Inc. will post 5.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avnet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th were paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 5th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. Avnet’s payout ratio is presently 20.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Avnet news, Director Carlo Bozotti sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.40, for a total value of $489,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $629,843.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Carlo Bozotti sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.40, for a total transaction of $489,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,578 shares in the company, valued at $629,843.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Ken E. Arnold sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.34, for a total value of $434,720.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 40,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,186,587.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 66,532 shares of company stock worth $3,544,957. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Avnet from $49.00 to $48.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.00.

Avnet Profile

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.