Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Increases Stake in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its position in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 7.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 24,497 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,786 shares during the quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp’s holdings in AeroVironment were worth $3,755,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. RiverPark Advisors LLC grew its position in AeroVironment by 360.8% during the 1st quarter. RiverPark Advisors LLC now owns 1,788 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in AeroVironment by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 4,821 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $739,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC bought a new position in AeroVironment during the 1st quarter valued at about $303,000. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in AeroVironment during the 1st quarter valued at about $249,000. Finally, North Star Investment Management Corp. lifted its stake in AeroVironment by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 1,268 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $194,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. 86.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AeroVironment Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AVAV opened at $173.25 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $192.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $157.48. AeroVironment, Inc. has a twelve month low of $91.00 and a twelve month high of $224.00. The company has a quick ratio of 2.52, a current ratio of 3.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.87 billion, a PE ratio of 78.04 and a beta of 0.51.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 26th. The aerospace company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.21. AeroVironment had a net margin of 8.32% and a return on equity of 10.89%. The firm had revenue of $197.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $188.48 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.99 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.41 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AeroVironment news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 9,867 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.23, for a total transaction of $1,669,792.41. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 99,892 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,904,723.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other AeroVironment news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 511 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.45, for a total transaction of $91,187.95. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 21,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,807,052.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 9,867 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.23, for a total transaction of $1,669,792.41. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 99,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,904,723.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVAV has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $255.00 target price on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.20.

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.