New York State Teachers Retirement System Raises Position in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 17,618 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in AeroVironment were worth $2,711,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AeroVironment in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AeroVironment in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in AeroVironment by 1,515.4% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 210 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC bought a new stake in AeroVironment during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in AeroVironment during the third quarter worth about $62,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.73, for a total transaction of $78,697.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 16,472 shares in the company, valued at $3,273,480.56. The trade was a 2.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price target 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.20.

AeroVironment Trading Down 2.1 %

NASDAQ AVAV opened at $154.79 on Friday. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 1-year low of $121.38 and a 1-year high of $236.60. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $166.73 and a 200-day moving average of $185.73. The firm has a market cap of $4.37 billion, a PE ratio of 88.96 and a beta of 0.52.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last released its 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). AeroVironment had a net margin of 6.39% and a return on equity of 8.12%. The company had revenue of $188.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $181.80 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.97 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

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.