Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in ViaSat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) by 7,886.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 87,057 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 85,967 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned approximately 0.15% of ViaSat worth $5,132,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC grew its position in ViaSat by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC now owns 9,400 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $554,000 after buying an additional 1,600 shares during the period. AlphaCrest Capital Management LLC bought a new position in ViaSat during the fourth quarter valued at about $200,000. Texas Permanent School Fund lifted its holdings in ViaSat by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund now owns 36,692 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,163,000 after purchasing an additional 1,472 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in ViaSat by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 619,174 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $36,500,000 after purchasing an additional 7,057 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. lifted its holdings in ViaSat by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 31,204 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,839,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares during the last quarter.
Shares of VSAT stock traded down $0.02 during trading on Friday, hitting $77.50. The company had a trading volume of 543,234 shares, compared to its average volume of 391,459. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market cap of $4.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -90.12 and a beta of 0.90. ViaSat, Inc. has a 52 week low of $55.93 and a 52 week high of $78.65.
ViaSat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 7th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.17) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of ($0.41) by $0.24. The company had revenue of $554.69 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $487.99 million. ViaSat had a negative net margin of 4.62% and a negative return on equity of 4.60%. ViaSat’s revenue for the quarter was up 45.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.04) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that ViaSat, Inc. will post -1.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.
In other ViaSat news, Director B Allen Lay sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.97, for a total transaction of $75,970.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruce Leroy Dirks sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.61, for a total transaction of $1,840,250.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 139,401 shares of company stock worth $10,214,969. 8.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Several equities research analysts have commented on VSAT shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of ViaSat from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 30th. BidaskClub downgraded shares of ViaSat from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 11th. ValuEngine downgraded shares of ViaSat from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 2nd. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of ViaSat from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Saturday, January 12th. Finally, Barclays reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $66.00 price target on shares of ViaSat in a report on Wednesday, February 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $69.71.
About ViaSat
Viasat, Inc provides broadband and communications products and services worldwide. The company’s Satellite Services segment offers satellite-based fixed broadband services, including broadband Internet access and voice over Internet protocol services to consumers and businesses; in-flight Internet and aviation software services to commercial airlines; and mobile broadband services comprising network management and high-speed Internet connectivity services for customers using airborne, maritime, and ground mobile satellite systems.