AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) Shares Bought by Royce & Associates LP

Royce & Associates LP increased its holdings in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,000 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned about 0.06% of AeroVironment worth $3,609,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of AeroVironment by 24.7% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 21,116 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,237,000 after purchasing an additional 4,186 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 11.8% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 5,467 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $838,000 after acquiring an additional 576 shares during the last quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AeroVironment in the first quarter worth $266,000. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its position in shares of AeroVironment by 10.5% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 8,212 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,259,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 7.4% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 1,920 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $294,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AeroVironment Price Performance

Shares of AeroVironment stock opened at $197.07 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 92.52 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 4.26, a quick ratio of 3.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $206.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $193.64. AeroVironment, Inc. has a twelve month low of $116.51 and a twelve month high of $236.60.

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

Insider Activity at AeroVironment

In other AeroVironment news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 508 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.65, for a total value of $110,058.20. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,868 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,654,452.20. This trade represents a 2.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,782 shares of company stock worth $372,615. 1.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AVAV shares. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 target price on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Baird R W upgraded AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Jefferies Financial Group cut AeroVironment from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $240.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $216.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $161.00 to $220.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $213.50.

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.