AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) Shares Acquired by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 2,950.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 305 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in AeroVironment were worth $47,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its position in AeroVironment by 29.1% during the 3rd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 1,951,393 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $391,254,000 after purchasing an additional 439,717 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in AeroVironment by 0.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,582,871 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $317,366,000 after acquiring an additional 7,471 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in AeroVironment by 0.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 634,189 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $127,180,000 after acquiring an additional 4,948 shares during the period. Heard Capital LLC raised its position in AeroVironment by 25.5% during the third quarter. Heard Capital LLC now owns 592,136 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $118,723,000 after acquiring an additional 120,447 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 154,703 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at AeroVironment

In other news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.73, for a total value of $78,697.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,472 shares in the company, valued at $3,273,480.56. This represents a 2.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.27% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AVAV. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price target for the company 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 assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.20.

AeroVironment Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AVAV opened at $153.65 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 3.36 and a current ratio of 4.61. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $166.12 and a 200 day moving average of $185.42. The firm has a market cap of $4.34 billion, a PE ratio of 88.30 and a beta of 0.52. AeroVironment, Inc. has a one year low of $125.44 and a one year high of $236.60.

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

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.