Wellington Management Group LLP Boosts Stake in American Vanguard Co. (NYSE:AVD)

Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of American Vanguard Co. (NYSE:AVD) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,685,126 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 73,120 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned 5.86% of American Vanguard worth $18,486,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AVD. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of American Vanguard by 492.4% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,340 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,945 shares in the last quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in American Vanguard in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in American Vanguard by 240.5% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,885 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 4,863 shares in the last quarter. Cruiser Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of American Vanguard by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Cruiser Capital Advisors LLC now owns 974,155 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,686,000 after acquiring an additional 5,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Vanguard by 24.2% during the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 39,163 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $430,000 after acquiring an additional 7,631 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.04% of the company’s stock.

American Vanguard Price Performance

Shares of AVD opened at $8.67 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.66. The stock has a market cap of $242.67 million, a PE ratio of 33.35 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The basic materials company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $135.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $141.20 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.07 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that American Vanguard Co. will post 0.44 EPS for the current year.

American Vanguard Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a 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%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Vanguard

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

About American Vanguard

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.