American Vanguard Co. (NYSE:AVD) Shares Bought by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in American Vanguard Co. (NYSE:AVD) by 12.9% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 45,206 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,170 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in American Vanguard were worth $389,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in American Vanguard by 535.7% in the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 135,165 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,162,000 after buying an additional 113,901 shares during the period. Pullen Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Vanguard by 2.4% in the second quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC now owns 70,089 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $603,000 after acquiring an additional 1,628 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Vanguard during the second quarter worth about $118,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in American Vanguard by 7,554.5% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,210 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 4,155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new position in American Vanguard during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on AVD shares. Lake Street Capital initiated coverage on American Vanguard in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $14.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded American Vanguard from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $16.67.

American Vanguard Price Performance

AVD stock opened at $5.11 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $6.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $8.85. American Vanguard Co. has a 52 week low of $4.95 and a 52 week high of $14.28. The company has a market cap of $142.86 million, a P/E ratio of 19.73 and a beta of 0.88.

American Vanguard (NYSE:AVD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The basic materials company reported ($0.09) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $128.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $134.20 million. American Vanguard had a positive return on equity of 1.85% and a negative net margin of 0.60%. On average, research analysts expect that American Vanguard Co. will post 0.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Vanguard news, Director Keith M. Rosenbloom acquired 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $5.94 per share, for a total transaction of $148,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,193,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,090,471.08. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Keith M. Rosenbloom purchased 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $5.94 per share, with a total value of $148,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,193,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,090,471.08. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Peter Eilers sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.80, for a total transaction of $29,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 42,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $248,849. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have bought 163,047 shares of company stock worth $938,205. 10.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.