Vanguard Group Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,915,436 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 54,482 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of AeroVironment worth $367,462,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AVAV. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 3,565.5% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 171,288 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $21,589,000 after purchasing an additional 166,615 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $20,287,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 187.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 221,749 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $27,949,000 after purchasing an additional 144,628 shares during the last quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE lifted its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 756.3% during the fourth quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE now owns 102,155 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $12,876,000 after purchasing an additional 90,225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,784,000. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AeroVironment Trading Down 7.7 %

NASDAQ:AVAV opened at $177.91 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 4.66, a quick ratio of 3.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 12 month low of $91.00 and a 12 month high of $224.00. The company has a market cap of $5.01 billion, a PE ratio of -41.28 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $189.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $153.77.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The aerospace company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.22. AeroVironment had a negative net margin of 15.14% and a positive return on equity of 13.93%. The business had revenue of $197.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $188.48 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.99 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 2.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Thursday. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $255.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $161.00 price objective on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Friday, March 8th. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AeroVironment currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.20.

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.