Avnet, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVT) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.29

Avnet, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVT – Get Rating) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, May 22nd, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 7th will be paid a dividend of 0.29 per share on Wednesday, June 21st. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 6th.

Avnet has raised its dividend by an average of 10.3% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 2 consecutive years. Avnet has a dividend payout ratio of 20.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Avnet to earn $5.67 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.16 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 20.5%.

Avnet Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of Avnet stock traded down $0.68 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $42.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 55,808 shares, compared to its average volume of 557,929. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 1.35. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 2.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Avnet has a 1-year low of $35.45 and a 1-year high of $50.19.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AVT shares. StockNews.com began coverage on Avnet in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Citigroup boosted their price target on Avnet from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Avnet from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Avnet from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $44.00.

Insider Transactions at Avnet

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

Institutional Trading of Avnet

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Avnet during the 4th quarter worth about $37,590,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Avnet by 545.6% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 579,206 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,920,000 after buying an additional 489,490 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Avnet during the 4th quarter worth about $15,809,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Avnet by 26.2% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,641,419 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,601,000 after buying an additional 340,679 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Avnet by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 9,062,435 shares of the company’s stock worth $409,622,000 after buying an additional 335,696 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.11% of the company’s stock.

Avnet Company Profile

(Get Rating)

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.