Citigroup Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Avnet, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVT)

Citigroup Inc. reduced its position in Avnet, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVT – Get Rating) by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 59,113 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,254 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Avnet were worth $2,458,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of AVT. Natixis Advisors L.P. purchased a new stake in Avnet in the first quarter worth $448,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in Avnet in the first quarter worth $1,019,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in Avnet by 33.1% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 64,005 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,598,000 after buying an additional 15,921 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its position in Avnet by 10.3% in the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 36,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,472,000 after buying an additional 3,372 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can increased its position in Avnet by 9.8% in the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 63,382 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,658,000 after buying an additional 5,646 shares during the last quarter. 97.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avnet Price Performance

NASDAQ:AVT opened at $42.71 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 1.35. Avnet, Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.45 and a 52-week high of $50.19. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $42.61 and a 200 day moving average of $44.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 2.63.

Avnet (NASDAQ:AVT – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 3rd. The company reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $6.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.31 billion. Avnet had a return on equity of 17.71% and a net margin of 3.27%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.15 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Avnet, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Avnet

In other Avnet news, Director James A. Lawrence sold 72,851 shares of Avnet stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.69, for a total transaction of $3,037,158.19. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $629,519. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Avnet news, Director James A. Lawrence sold 72,851 shares of Avnet stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.69, for a total transaction of $3,037,158.19. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $629,519. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Philip R. Gallagher sold 32,740 shares of Avnet stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.35, for a total value of $1,353,799.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 176,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,291,410.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AVT shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on Avnet from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Avnet from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 2nd. StockNews.com started coverage on Avnet in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Avnet from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $44.00.

Avnet Company Profile

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Avnet, Inc engages in the distribution and sale of electronic components. It operates through the Electronic Components and Farnell segments. The Electronic Components segment markets and sells semiconductors, interconnect, passive and electromechanical devices, and integrated components. The Farnell segment is involved in the distribution of electronic components and related products to the electronic system design community utilizing multi-channel sales and marketing resources.