The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Invests $6.39 Million in Viasat Inc. $VSAT

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 71,105 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,386,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Viasat during the second quarter worth approximately $1,863,374,000. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN boosted its holdings in shares of Viasat by 15.8% in the second quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 5,845,100 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $85,338,000 after acquiring an additional 796,349 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Viasat by 18.2% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,789,539 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $219,346,000 after acquiring an additional 738,656 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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 worth $115,266,000 after acquiring an additional 273,369 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Viasat by 2,821.7% in the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 3,112,670 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Theresa Wise sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.69, for a total transaction of $211,725.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 11,000 shares in the company, valued at $931,590. The trade was a 18.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Benjamin Edward Palmer sold 2,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.46, for a total transaction of $181,104.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 21,159 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,596,658.14. This trade represents a 10.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 675,861 shares of company stock valued at $47,705,388. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Viasat in a research report on Monday, June 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. New Street Research assumed coverage on shares of Viasat in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Viasat from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Viasat from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $90.67.

Viasat Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VSAT opened at $67.37 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $75.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $64.40. Viasat Inc. has a 1-year low of $26.10 and a 1-year high of $93.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.52. The company has a market cap of $9.28 billion, a PE ratio of -280.71 and a beta of 1.72.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 28th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.32 by ($0.34). The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. Viasat had a negative net margin of 0.64% and a positive return on equity of 1.44%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.02) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Viasat Inc. will post -0.36 EPS for the current year.

About Viasat

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.