Quadrature Capital Ltd Sells 13,881 Shares of American Vanguard Co. (NYSE:AVD)

Quadrature Capital Ltd lowered its position in shares of American Vanguard Co. (NYSE:AVD) by 46.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,710 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 13,881 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd owned approximately 0.05% of American Vanguard worth $172,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AVD. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of American Vanguard by 1,605.6% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 17,789 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $194,000 after acquiring an additional 16,746 shares in the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of American Vanguard by 185.0% during the third quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 45,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $492,000 after acquiring an additional 29,208 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its holdings in American Vanguard by 89.6% in the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 539,875 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,901,000 after purchasing an additional 255,190 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in American Vanguard by 29.3% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 338,637 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,701,000 after purchasing an additional 76,782 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in American Vanguard by 11.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,612,006 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $17,619,000 after purchasing an additional 163,941 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.04% of the company’s stock.

American Vanguard Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of American Vanguard stock opened at $8.72 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $9.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $244.07 million, a PE ratio of 33.54 and a beta of 0.95. American Vanguard Co. has a 1-year low of $8.41 and a 1-year high of $18.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

American Vanguard (NYSE:AVD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The basic materials company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.01. American Vanguard had a net margin of 1.22% and a return on equity of 2.20%. The business had revenue of $135.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $141.20 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.07 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that American Vanguard Co. will post 0.44 earnings per share for the current year.

American Vanguard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 26th. American Vanguard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AVD shares. StockNews.com cut shares of American Vanguard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Roth Mkm raised their target price on shares of American Vanguard from $13.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Loop Capital raised their target price on shares of American Vanguard from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $18.00.

Insider Activity at American Vanguard

In other news, Director Steven D. Macicek bought 8,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were bought at an average price of $9.01 per share, for a total transaction of $76,585.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 10,044 shares in the company, valued at $90,496.44. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Steven D. Macicek purchased 8,500 shares of American Vanguard stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $9.01 per share, for a total transaction of $76,585.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 10,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $90,496.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ulrich Trogele purchased 18,200 shares of American Vanguard stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was bought at an average price of $8.75 per share, for a total transaction of $159,250.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 209,876 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,836,415. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 10.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

American Vanguard Company Profile

American Vanguard Corporation, through its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and markets specialty chemicals for agricultural, commercial, and consumer uses in the United States and internationally. It manufactures and formulates chemicals, including insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, soil health, plant nutrition, molluscicides, growth regulators, soil fumigants, and biorationals in liquid, powder, and granular forms for crops, turf and ornamental plants, and human and animal health protection.