Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Grows Position in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 1,593.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,423 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 19,217 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in AeroVironment were worth $2,574,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in AeroVironment by 1.1% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,468,250 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $457,013,000 after purchasing an additional 50,580 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in AeroVironment by 7.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,860,954 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $319,082,000 after purchasing an additional 209,359 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in AeroVironment by 1.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,430,804 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $119,272,000 after purchasing an additional 16,440 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC boosted its position in AeroVironment by 13.6% in the second quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 846,708 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $86,601,000 after purchasing an additional 101,681 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its position in AeroVironment by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 759,638 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $65,071,000 after purchasing an additional 34,794 shares during the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AeroVironment Stock Up 2.3 %

NASDAQ AVAV opened at $150.02 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $144.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $130.56. The company has a quick ratio of 3.16, a current ratio of 4.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 52 week low of $88.24 and a 52 week high of $184.61. The company has a market capitalization of $4.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -34.81 and a beta of 0.44.

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

Insider Activity at AeroVironment

In related news, VP Trace E. Stevenson sold 1,913 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.00, for a total transaction of $350,079.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $470,310. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, VP Trace E. Stevenson sold 1,913 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.00, for a total transaction of $350,079.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $470,310. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Melissa Ann Brown sold 1,000 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly 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 corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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