Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases 3,614 Shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 299.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,821 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 3,614 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in AeroVironment were worth $1,037,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Security National Bank bought a new position in AeroVironment during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in AeroVironment during the third quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in AeroVironment by 51.0% in the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 394 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI lifted its holdings in AeroVironment by 23.1% during the third quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 400 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

AeroVironment Stock Down 2.4 %

AVAV stock opened at $157.66 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.45 billion, a PE ratio of 90.61 and a beta of 0.45. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 52 week low of $116.51 and a 52 week 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $192.36 and a 200 day moving average of $189.51.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.47 EPS 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $0.97 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AeroVironment

In other AeroVironment news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 508 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.65, for a total transaction of $110,058.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,868 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,654,452.20. The trade was a 2.92 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,782 shares of company stock worth $373,609. 1.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AVAV. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 price target on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $230.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 5th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $240.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Raymond James downgraded shares of AeroVironment from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AeroVironment currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $225.20.

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.