Franklin Resources Inc. Grows Stock Position in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 299.4% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,821 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,614 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in AeroVironment were worth $1,037,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AVAV. TD Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $565,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC grew its position in AeroVironment by 120.6% during the second quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 136,603 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $24,884,000 after buying an additional 74,672 shares during the period. Nicholas Investment Partners LP purchased a new position in AeroVironment in the second quarter valued at $3,679,000. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust increased its holdings in AeroVironment by 2.0% in the second quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 158,968 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $28,958,000 after buying an additional 3,098 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,179,000. 86.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AeroVironment Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of AVAV stock opened at $157.66 on Friday. AeroVironment, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $116.51 and a fifty-two week high of $236.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 3.36 and a current ratio of 4.61. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $192.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $189.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 90.61 and a beta of 0.45.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.29). The business had revenue of $188.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $181.80 million. AeroVironment had a return on equity of 8.12% and a net margin of 6.39%. The business’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.97 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 508 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.65, for a total transaction of $110,058.20. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 16,868 shares in the company, valued at $3,654,452.20. The trade was a 2.92 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold 1,782 shares of company stock worth $373,609 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.27% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on AVAV shares. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 price objective on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $240.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Raymond James lowered shares of AeroVironment from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $230.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $225.20.

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.