Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Decreases Stake in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 56.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,881 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 2,437 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in AeroVironment were worth $377,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AVAV. Security National Bank bought a new position in AeroVironment during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI raised its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 23.1% during the third quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 400 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its position in AeroVironment by 47.4% during the third quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 432 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in AeroVironment in the second quarter worth approximately $95,000. 86.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AVAV shares. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on AeroVironment from $230.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 5th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 target price on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Raymond James lowered shares of AeroVironment from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Baird R W raised shares of AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $161.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AeroVironment has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $213.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 878 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.54, for a total transaction of $184,854.12. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 17,376 shares in the company, valued at $3,658,343.04. This trade represents a 4.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold 1,782 shares of company stock worth $372,615 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.27% of the company’s stock.

AeroVironment Stock Down 2.1 %

AVAV stock opened at $200.06 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $206.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $193.42. The stock has a market cap of $5.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 93.92 and a beta of 0.49. AeroVironment, Inc. has a twelve month low of $116.51 and a twelve month high of $236.60. The company has a quick ratio of 3.04, a current ratio of 4.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.89 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $183.18 million. AeroVironment had a net margin of 7.82% and a return on equity of 9.87%. The company’s revenue was up 24.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.00 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.36 EPS for the current 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.