AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) Holdings Raised by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 17.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,822 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 2,761 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned about 0.07% of AeroVironment worth $2,897,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 29.1% during the third quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 1,951,393 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $391,254,000 after acquiring an additional 439,717 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in AeroVironment by 155.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 321,479 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $64,457,000 after purchasing an additional 195,443 shares during the period. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 40.0% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 541,541 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $83,338,000 after purchasing an additional 154,703 shares in the last quarter. Heard Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of AeroVironment by 25.5% in the third quarter. Heard Capital LLC now owns 592,136 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $118,723,000 after buying an additional 120,447 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 108.4% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 180,824 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $36,255,000 after buying an additional 94,062 shares in the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at AeroVironment

In other news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,273,480.56. This represents a 2.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AVAV opened at $151.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 4.61 and a quick ratio of 3.36. AeroVironment, Inc. has a one year low of $125.44 and a one year high of $236.60. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $165.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $185.19. The company has a market capitalization of $4.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 87.28 and a beta of 0.52.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.29). The firm had revenue of $188.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $181.80 million. AeroVironment had a net margin of 6.39% and a return on equity of 8.12%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.97 EPS. Analysts anticipate that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVAV has been the subject of several research analyst reports. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $240.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.20.

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.