Baillie Gifford & Co. Boosts Holdings in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its holdings in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 9.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,135,280 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 183,887 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned 0.08% of AeroVironment worth $328,598,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. James Investment Research Inc. purchased a new stake in AeroVironment in the fourth quarter valued at $228,000. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AeroVironment in the fourth quarter worth about $108,000. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its position in shares of AeroVironment by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 333,193 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $51,275,000 after acquiring an additional 32,663 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in shares of AeroVironment by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 62,764 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $9,659,000 after acquiring an additional 2,423 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of AeroVironment by 2,950.0% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 305 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the period. 86.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at AeroVironment

In related news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.73, for a total transaction of $78,697.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 16,472 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,273,480.56. This represents a 2.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AVAV. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $240.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.20.

AeroVironment Stock Down 2.7 %

AVAV opened at $156.99 on Monday. AeroVironment, Inc. has a twelve month low of $121.38 and a twelve month high of $236.60. The company has a quick ratio of 3.36, a current ratio of 4.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $166.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $186.39. The company has a market cap of $4.43 billion, a PE ratio of 90.22 and a beta of 0.52.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.29). AeroVironment had a return on equity of 8.12% and a net margin of 6.39%. The company had revenue of $188.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $181.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AeroVironment Company Profile

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.