Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Increases Holdings in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its stake in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 12.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 152,942 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,973 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned 0.54% of AeroVironment worth $23,536,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AVAV. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in AeroVironment by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 256,688 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $51,466,000 after acquiring an additional 9,921 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 25.9% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 72,232 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $14,483,000 after purchasing an additional 14,874 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 28.5% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 2,225 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $446,000 after purchasing an additional 494 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance bought a new stake in shares of AeroVironment in the third quarter valued at approximately $212,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Institutional investors own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AVAV. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $230.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on AeroVironment from $220.00 to $146.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AeroVironment has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $202.40.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 29,366 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.20, for a total value of $3,764,721.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 115,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,765,306.80. This trade represents a 20.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.27% of the company’s stock.

AeroVironment Price Performance

NASDAQ:AVAV opened at $123.59 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.03 and a beta of 0.42. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $153.36 and a 200 day moving average of $177.06. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 52-week low of $110.07 and a 52-week high of $236.60.

AeroVironment 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.