Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Sells 3,314,486 Shares of Viavi Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAV)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Viavi Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAV) by 45.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,905,477 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 3,314,486 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in Viavi Solutions were worth $39,445,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its stake in shares of Viavi Solutions by 35.0% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 3,212 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 833 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Viavi Solutions by 804.6% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 6,938 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 6,171 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Viavi Solutions in the fourth quarter worth approximately $75,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Viavi Solutions by 836.2% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 8,323 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 7,434 shares during the period. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its position in shares of Viavi Solutions by 64.6% in the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 9,389 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 3,684 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.54% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VIAV has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Viavi Solutions from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com upgraded Viavi Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $13.00 price target (up from $12.00) on shares of Viavi Solutions in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Argus upped their target price on shares of Viavi Solutions from $13.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities upped their target price on shares of Viavi Solutions from $12.00 to $13.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $12.69.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Luke M. Scrivanich sold 14,323 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.24, for a total value of $160,990.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 55,877 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $628,057.48. This trade represents a 20.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard Belluzzo sold 8,385 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.92, for a total value of $74,794.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 259,081 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,311,002.52. The trade was a 3.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 45,549 shares of company stock worth $485,916. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Viavi Solutions Stock Down 0.6%

NASDAQ VIAV opened at $9.28 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 3.18 and a current ratio of 3.55. The company has a market capitalization of $2.07 billion, a P/E ratio of -51.55 and a beta of 0.92. Viavi Solutions Inc. has a one year low of $6.60 and a one year high of $12.91. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $10.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $10.54.

Viavi Solutions Profile

Viavi Solutions, Inc engages in the provision of network test, monitoring, and assurance solutions for communications service providers, enterprises, network equipment manufacturers, government and avionics. It operates through the following segments: Network Enablement, Service Enablement, and Optical Security and Performance.