Blue Trust Inc. Grows Stake in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 3,080.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 318 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 308 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in AeroVironment were worth $49,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its position in shares of AeroVironment by 29.1% in the third quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 1,951,393 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $391,254,000 after acquiring an additional 439,717 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 0.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,582,871 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $317,366,000 after acquiring an additional 7,471 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 0.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 634,189 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $127,180,000 after acquiring an additional 4,948 shares during the period. Heard Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 25.5% in the third quarter. Heard Capital LLC now owns 592,136 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $118,723,000 after acquiring an additional 120,447 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 155.1% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 321,479 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $64,457,000 after acquiring an additional 195,443 shares during the period. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at AeroVironment

In other AeroVironment news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.73, for a total transaction of $78,697.08. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,472 shares in the company, valued at $3,273,480.56. This represents a 2.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.27% of the company’s stock.

AeroVironment Price Performance

NASDAQ:AVAV opened at $176.93 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 4.61, a quick ratio of 3.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The company has a market capitalization of $4.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 101.68 and a beta of 0.52. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 12 month low of $121.38 and a 12 month high of $236.60. The business’s 50-day moving average is $168.12 and its 200 day moving average is $186.55.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last posted its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $188.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $181.80 million. AeroVironment had a return on equity of 8.12% and a net margin of 6.39%. AeroVironment’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.97 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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