Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) Shares Acquired by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) by 5.1% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,194,940 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 154,732 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Viasat were worth $108,114,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VSAT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Viasat by 6.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,111,765 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $214,989,000 after purchasing an additional 452,198 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in Viasat by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 6,573,656 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $198,722,000 after buying an additional 149,264 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Viasat by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,146,250 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $64,881,000 after buying an additional 47,950 shares in the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Viasat by 27.0% in the 4th quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 1,718,470 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $54,400,000 after acquiring an additional 365,762 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Viasat by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,078,325 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $34,128,000 after purchasing an additional 51,864 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.28% of the company’s stock.

Viasat Stock Performance

Shares of VSAT opened at $24.34 on Friday. Viasat, Inc. has a one year low of $24.01 and a one year high of $47.35. The company has a 50-day moving average of $31.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $35.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 2.33 and a quick ratio of 2.10. The stock has a market cap of $1.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1.80, a PEG ratio of 19.46 and a beta of 1.21.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 9th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.83) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.22 by ($1.05). Viasat had a return on equity of 26.53% and a net margin of 37.40%. The firm had revenue of $779.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.06 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that Viasat, Inc. will post 0.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Viasat news, insider James Michael Dodd sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.31, for a total transaction of $156,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 17,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $559,071.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Richard A. Baldridge sold 3,492 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.55, for a total value of $96,204.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider James Michael Dodd sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.31, for a total value of $156,550.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 17,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $559,071.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,064 shares of company stock worth $271,334. 3.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VSAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Viasat in a report on Wednesday, August 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $35.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Viasat from $79.00 to $81.00 in a research report on Friday, May 26th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on shares of Viasat from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 11th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Viasat from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 21st. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Viasat in a report on Thursday, July 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Viasat currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.20.

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 entertainment and aviation software services to commercial airlines and private business jets; satellite-based connectivity services; mobile broadband services, including satellite-based internet services to energy offshore vessels, cruise ships, consumer ferries, and yachts; and energy services, which include ultra-secure solutions IP connectivity, bandwidth-optimized over-the-top applications, industrial internet-of-things big data enablement, and industry-leading machine learning analytics.