Royce & Associates LP Increases Stock Position in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Royce & Associates LP boosted its position in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 12.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,000 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in AeroVironment were worth $3,609,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVAV. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the first quarter valued at about $854,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in AeroVironment by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,094,831 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $474,376,000 after purchasing an additional 179,395 shares in the last quarter. Natixis purchased a new stake in AeroVironment during the 1st quarter worth approximately $924,000. Comerica Bank raised its position in shares of AeroVironment by 53.9% in the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 18,991 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,911,000 after purchasing an additional 6,648 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 37.1% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,636 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,243,000 after buying an additional 3,958 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.22, for a total value of $77,703.12. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 18,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,581,799.88. This trade represents a 2.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,782 shares of company stock valued at $372,615. 1.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AVAV opened at $197.07 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.04, a current ratio of 4.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $206.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $193.64. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 52-week low of $116.51 and a 52-week high of $236.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 92.52 and a beta of 0.49.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $189.48 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $183.18 million. AeroVironment had a return on equity of 9.87% and a net margin of 7.82%. The business’s revenue was up 24.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.00 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AVAV has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James lowered shares of AeroVironment from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of AeroVironment from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $240.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on AeroVironment from $230.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Robert W. Baird upgraded AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $161.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors upgraded AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $216.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $213.50.

About AeroVironment

AeroVironment, Inc designs, develops, produces, delivers, and supports a portfolio of robotic systems and related services for government agencies and businesses in the United States and internationally. It operates through Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (SUAS), Tactical Missile System (TMS), Medium Unmanned Aircraft Systems (MUAS), and High Altitude Pseudo-Satellite Systems (HAPS) segments.