William Blair Investment Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Avnet, Inc. $AVT

William Blair Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in Avnet, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVT) by 9.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 538,841 shares of the company’s stock after selling 54,866 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Avnet were worth $25,907,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Avnet in the third quarter worth $616,000. Candriam S.C.A. purchased a new stake in Avnet in the third quarter worth $2,064,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Avnet by 7,002.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 28,053 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,466,000 after purchasing an additional 27,658 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Avnet by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,783,059 shares of the company’s stock worth $563,738,000 after purchasing an additional 214,290 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Avnet by 22.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 576,725 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,151,000 after purchasing an additional 106,160 shares in the last quarter. 95.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings cut Avnet from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Zacks Research raised Avnet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Bank of America raised Avnet from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $96.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Avnet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Avnet from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Avnet has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.00.

Avnet Stock Performance

NASDAQ AVT opened at $85.91 on Tuesday. Avnet, Inc. has a 12 month low of $44.25 and a 12 month high of $87.46. The stock has a market cap of $7.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.09. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $72.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.52. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Avnet (NASDAQ:AVT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.15. Avnet had a return on equity of 7.07% and a net margin of 0.86%.The firm had revenue of $7.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.84 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 34.0% on a year-over-year basis. Avnet has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 1.700-1.800 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Avnet, Inc. will post 5.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avnet Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 3rd. Avnet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.47%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Philip R. Gallagher sold 23,920 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.92, for a total transaction of $1,983,446.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 145,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,023,648.76. This represents a 14.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Avnet

Avnet, Inc (NASDAQ: AVT) is a global technology distributor and solutions provider specializing in the sourcing, design, and supply chain management of electronic components and embedded systems. The company offers a broad portfolio of semiconductors, interconnect, passive and electromechanical components, as well as embedded hardware and software, cloud solutions, and Internet of Things (IoT) services. Avnet’s offerings aim to support customers through every stage of the product lifecycle, from initial prototype and design to production and end-of-life management.

Founded in 1921 by Charles Avnet, the company has evolved from a regional radio parts supplier into a multinational enterprise.