Diversified Trust Co Buys Shares of 19,512 Viasat Inc. $VSAT

Diversified Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 19,512 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $572,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. OCO Capital Partners L.P. boosted its position in Viasat by 60.0% during the 2nd quarter. OCO Capital Partners L.P. now owns 6,000,000 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $87,600,000 after buying an additional 2,250,000 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Viasat by 96.8% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,680,387 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $39,134,000 after purchasing an additional 1,318,524 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Viasat by 673.7% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,386,089 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $14,443,000 after purchasing an additional 1,206,935 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Viasat by 64.9% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,866,242 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $29,866,000 after purchasing an additional 1,128,338 shares during the period. Finally, Penserra Capital Management LLC raised its position in Viasat by 328.7% during the 2nd quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 1,131,429 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $16,518,000 after purchasing an additional 867,505 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Viasat Stock Up 9.2%

Viasat stock opened at $37.63 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The company has a market capitalization of $5.09 billion, a PE ratio of -9.41 and a beta of 1.37. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $35.54 and its 200 day moving average is $28.59. Viasat Inc. has a 12-month low of $7.36 and a 12-month high of $43.59.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, November 8th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.11) by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.15 billion. Viasat had a negative net margin of 11.40% and a negative return on equity of 3.65%. The business’s revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.23) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Viasat Inc. will post -0.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VSAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Raymond James Financial upgraded Viasat from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, November 10th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $23.00 price target (up previously from $10.00) on shares of Viasat in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Viasat from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $23.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of Viasat from $25.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.75.

Insider Transactions at Viasat

In related news, CEO Mark D. Dankberg sold 200,000 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.09, for a total value of $7,018,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,534,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,862,904.37. This trade represents a 11.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Shawn Lynn Duffy sold 51,480 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total transaction of $1,872,842.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 6,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,043.98. This trade represents a 89.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 256,529 shares of company stock worth $9,071,888. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Viasat Profile

Viasat, Inc (NASDAQ: VSAT) provides high‐capacity satellite broadband and wireless communications services to consumer, commercial and government customers worldwide. The company designs and operates satellite systems and network infrastructure to deliver secure, high-speed connectivity across remote and underserved regions, as well as managed networking solutions for enterprises and public sector agencies.

Viasat’s product offerings include residential and enterprise satellite internet services, in-flight connectivity for commercial airlines and business jets, and secure networking platforms tailored to defense and intelligence users.