Arizona State Retirement System Has $926,000 Stock Holdings in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Arizona State Retirement System cut its holdings in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 7,350 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 114 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in AeroVironment were worth $926,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AVAV. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of AeroVironment by 60.5% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 8,134 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $766,000 after purchasing an additional 3,066 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in AeroVironment by 54.1% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,679 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $348,000 after acquiring an additional 1,291 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. lifted its stake in AeroVironment by 20.3% in the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 18,444 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,736,000 after acquiring an additional 3,117 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in AeroVironment by 14.8% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 6,918 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $656,000 after acquiring an additional 894 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in AeroVironment by 41.4% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 11,831 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,114,000 after acquiring an additional 3,466 shares in the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AeroVironment Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of AeroVironment stock opened at $149.46 on Wednesday. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 12-month low of $88.24 and a 12-month high of $184.61. The stock has a market cap of $4.21 billion, a P/E ratio of -34.68 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 3.16, a current ratio of 4.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The business’s 50 day moving average is $142.81 and its 200-day moving average is $129.71.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.30. AeroVironment had a positive return on equity of 13.93% and a negative net margin of 15.14%. The company had revenue of $186.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $170.62 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.33 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 38.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 2.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AeroVironment

In related news, VP Trace E. Stevenson sold 1,913 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.00, for a total value of $350,079.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $470,310. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Trace E. Stevenson sold 1,913 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.00, for a total value of $350,079.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $470,310. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Melissa Ann Brown sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.77, for a total value of $176,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,181,165.03. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on AeroVironment from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $161.00 target price on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AeroVironment has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.20.

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.