Viasat Inc. $VSAT Shares Bought by Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) by 10,321.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 96,194 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 95,271 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Viasat were worth $4,406,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN lifted its position in shares of Viasat by 15.8% during the second quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 5,845,100 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $85,338,000 after purchasing an additional 796,349 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Viasat by 22.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,050,883 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $139,601,000 after buying an additional 743,696 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Viasat by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,328,854 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $115,266,000 after buying an additional 273,369 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Viasat by 2,821.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,222,981 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $111,065,000 after buying an additional 3,112,670 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Viasat by 64.9% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,866,242 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $29,866,000 after buying an additional 1,128,338 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Viasat Stock Performance

VSAT stock opened at $71.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a current ratio of 2.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -246.48 and a beta of 1.70. Viasat Inc. has a 1 year low of $14.00 and a 1 year high of $93.03. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $71.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.81.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.32 by ($0.34). Viasat had a positive return on equity of 1.58% and a negative net margin of 0.73%.The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.02) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Viasat Inc. will post -0.39 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VSAT has been the subject of several research reports. Zacks Research lowered Viasat from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $97.00 price target on shares of Viasat in a research report on Monday, June 1st. B. Riley Financial raised their price objective on Viasat from $94.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of Viasat from $58.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Viasat in a research note on Monday, June 29th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.11.

Insider Activity

In other Viasat news, Director John P. Stenbit sold 653 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.74, for a total value of $46,846.22. Following the sale, the director owned 29,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,123,288.78. This trade represents a 2.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Theresa Wise sold 2,500 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.00, for a total value of $172,500.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 11,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $759,000. This trade represents a 18.52% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 438,803 shares of company stock worth $28,655,600 over the last three months. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

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.