Handelsbanken Fonder AB Raises Stake in Avnet, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVT)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in shares of Avnet, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVT) by 32.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,300 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,900 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Avnet were worth $1,320,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lind Value II ApS bought a new stake in Avnet during the second quarter valued at $62,394,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Avnet during the first quarter worth about $36,601,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Avnet by 5.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,950,336 shares of the company’s stock worth $542,918,000 after purchasing an additional 519,478 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Avnet by 34.7% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,844,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,713,000 after purchasing an additional 475,165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its position in Avnet by 584.1% during the first quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 320,990 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,915,000 after purchasing an additional 274,071 shares during the last quarter. 95.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Avnet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AVT opened at $55.02 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market cap of $4.81 billion, a PE ratio of 10.17 and a beta of 1.15. The company’s fifty day moving average is $53.06 and its 200 day moving average is $52.03. Avnet, Inc. has a 52 week low of $42.67 and a 52 week high of $55.80.

Avnet (NASDAQ:AVT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $5.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.37 billion. Avnet had a return on equity of 9.92% and a net margin of 2.10%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.06 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Avnet, Inc. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Avnet Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 11th were issued a $0.33 dividend. This is a boost from Avnet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 11th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. Avnet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AVT shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Avnet from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Avnet from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Avnet from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th.

Avnet Company 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.