Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $1.66 Million in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 13,200 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,664,000.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in AeroVironment by 26.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 77,121 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $8,601,000 after purchasing an additional 16,107 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in AeroVironment in the third quarter worth about $1,190,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in AeroVironment by 6.5% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 232,585 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,940,000 after purchasing an additional 14,193 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC lifted its holdings in AeroVironment by 135.5% in the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 13,280 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,481,000 after purchasing an additional 7,640 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in AeroVironment in the fourth quarter worth about $20,287,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AVAV shares. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $161.00 price target on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Friday, March 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of AeroVironment from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AeroVironment presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at AeroVironment

In other news, VP Trace E. Stevenson sold 1,913 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.00, for a total value of $350,079.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $470,310. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Melissa Ann Brown sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.77, for a total value of $176,770.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,181,165.03. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Trace E. Stevenson sold 1,913 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.00, for a total value of $350,079.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $470,310. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

AeroVironment Price Performance

AVAV stock opened at $150.02 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 one year low of $88.24 and a one year high of $184.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.22 billion, a PE ratio of -34.81 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $144.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $130.23.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.30. AeroVironment had a negative net margin of 15.14% and a positive return on equity of 13.93%. The company had revenue of $186.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $170.62 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.33 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 38.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 2.8 earnings per share for the current year.

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.