SG Americas Securities LLC Raises Stock Position in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 59.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,174 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 1,935 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in AeroVironment were worth $796,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AVAV. Security National Bank bought a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AeroVironment in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in AeroVironment in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $62,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 51.0% during the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 394 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI grew its stake in AeroVironment by 23.1% in the 3rd quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 400 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,472 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,273,480.56. This represents a 2.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AeroVironment Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ AVAV opened at $171.28 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $4.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 98.44 and a beta of 0.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $170.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $185.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 3.36 and a current ratio of 4.61. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 52-week low of $119.46 and a 52-week high of $236.60.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $188.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $181.80 million. AeroVironment had a return on equity of 8.12% and a net margin of 6.39%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.97 EPS. Analysts expect that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $240.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $225.20.

AeroVironment Company 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.