Towle & Co. Has $17.89 Million Stock Position in Avnet, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVT)

Towle & Co. trimmed its holdings in Avnet, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVT) by 20.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 342,020 shares of the company’s stock after selling 90,034 shares during the quarter. Avnet makes up approximately 3.1% of Towle & Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Towle & Co.’s holdings in Avnet were worth $17,894,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GeoWealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Avnet during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Avnet during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Natixis boosted its position in shares of Avnet by 1,463.8% during the 4th quarter. Natixis now owns 735 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 688 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Avnet by 621.8% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 960 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 827 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Avnet by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. 95.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Avnet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AVT opened at $51.88 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $48.08 and its 200 day moving average is $51.07. Avnet, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.22 and a fifty-two week high of $59.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.35 billion, a PE ratio of 14.70, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 2.39.

Avnet (NASDAQ:AVT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.12. Avnet had a return on equity of 7.49% and a net margin of 1.41%. The company had revenue of $5.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.10 EPS. Avnet’s quarterly revenue was down 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Avnet, Inc. will post 3.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Avnet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.54%. Avnet’s payout ratio is 36.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Avnet news, VP Elizabeth Mcmullen sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.80, for a total value of $211,200.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,626 shares in the company, valued at $772,252.80. This trade represents a 21.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on AVT. Bank of America downgraded Avnet from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $58.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Avnet from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Avnet from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st.

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.