Eagle Asset Management Inc. Decreases Stake in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Eagle Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 32.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 110,105 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 53,567 shares during the quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in AeroVironment were worth $22,076,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of AeroVironment by 6.2% in 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 during the last quarter. Natixis acquired a new position in AeroVironment in the 1st quarter worth approximately $924,000. Comerica Bank increased its holdings in AeroVironment by 53.9% in the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 18,991 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,911,000 after buying an additional 6,648 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in AeroVironment by 37.1% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,636 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,243,000 after buying an additional 3,958 shares during the period. Finally, American International Group Inc. increased its holdings in AeroVironment by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 14,617 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,240,000 after buying an additional 444 shares during the period. 86.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at AeroVironment

In other news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 878 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.54, for a total transaction of $184,854.12. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 17,376 shares in the company, valued at $3,658,343.04. The trade was a 4.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,782 shares of company stock worth $372,615. Corporate insiders own 1.27% of the company’s stock.

AeroVironment Price Performance

AeroVironment stock opened at $195.91 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $207.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $193.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 3.04 and a current ratio of 4.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 91.98 and a beta of 0.49. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 1 year low of $116.51 and a 1 year high of $236.60.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on AVAV shares. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $216.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of AeroVironment from $230.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 5th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 price target on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Baird R W raised shares of AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Raymond James cut shares of AeroVironment from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AeroVironment presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $211.83.

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.