Avnet (NASDAQ:AVT) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Avnet, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVT) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday. The stock had previously closed at $89.65, but opened at $94.29. Avnet shares last traded at $92.6750, with a volume of 24,631 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Avnet from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Avnet from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Avnet from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Avnet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Avnet from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Avnet currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.25.

Avnet Stock Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $94.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.12. The stock has a market cap of $7.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.07 and a beta of 1.06.

Avnet (NASDAQ:AVT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $8.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.81 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 47.7% on a year-over-year basis. Avnet has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 2.800-2.900 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Avnet, Inc. will post 10.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Avnet Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is a boost from Avnet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 9th. Avnet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.09%.

Insider Transactions at Avnet

In related news, SVP Michael Ryan Mccoy sold 32,052 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.10, for a total transaction of $2,919,937.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 76,674 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,985,001.40. The trade was a 29.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Philip Gallagher sold 51,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.46, for a total transaction of $5,110,074.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 168,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,632,158.58. This represents a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avnet

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. VestGen Advisors LLC increased its stake in Avnet by 21.7% in the third quarter. VestGen Advisors LLC now owns 9,051 shares of the company’s stock worth $905,000 after purchasing an additional 1,616 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Avnet by 2.1% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 23,445 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,343,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Avnet by 57.9% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $308,000 after purchasing an additional 1,131 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its stake in shares of Avnet by 125.3% during the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 5,136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $513,000 after purchasing an additional 2,856 shares during the period. Finally, Kendall Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Avnet by 0.6% in the third quarter. Kendall Capital Management now owns 177,110 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,702,000 after purchasing an additional 970 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.78% of the company’s stock.

Avnet Company Profile

Avnet, Inc is a global technology distributor that helps manufacturers and design engineers source electronic components and develop products. The company supplies semiconductors, embedded processors, memory, connectivity products, sensors, power-management components and other electronic parts used in industrial, automotive, communications, computing, aerospace and defense applications.

In addition to component distribution, Avnet provides engineering and design services, supply-chain management, product customization, logistics, and technical support.