Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Has $1.13 Million Holdings in Viasat Inc. $VSAT

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its holdings in shares of Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) by 36.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,754 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,722 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Viasat were worth $1,128,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Viasat by 483.2% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 109,448 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,140,000 after acquiring an additional 90,680 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Viasat by 189.7% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 452,933 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,692,000 after acquiring an additional 296,612 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Viasat by 673.7% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,386,089 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $14,443,000 after acquiring an additional 1,206,935 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Viasat by 64.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,866,242 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $29,866,000 after acquiring an additional 1,128,338 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Viasat by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 226,184 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,357,000 after acquiring an additional 14,575 shares during the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Craig Andrew Miller sold 5,260 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $263,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 21,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,062,600. This represents a 19.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Benjamin Edward Palmer sold 2,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.21, for a total value of $110,904.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 25,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,175,166.51. The trade was a 8.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 38,071 shares of company stock valued at $1,804,437. 2.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Viasat Price Performance

NASDAQ VSAT opened at $59.28 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.05. Viasat Inc. has a 52-week low of $8.61 and a 52-week high of $64.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 2.13. The stock has a market cap of $8.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -22.89 and a beta of 1.45.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VSAT. Barclays raised Viasat from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $23.00 to $49.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Raymond James Financial set a $74.00 price target on Viasat and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Viasat in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Viasat from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $36.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on Viasat from $45.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.57.

Viasat Company 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.