Cetera Investment Advisers Increases Stock Holdings in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 98.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,246 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,103 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in AeroVironment were worth $653,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AVAV. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $93,759,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in AeroVironment during the fourth quarter worth $46,789,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in AeroVironment in the fourth quarter valued at $37,502,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 2,135,280 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $328,598,000 after purchasing an additional 183,887 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 415.7% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 198,975 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $30,620,000 after purchasing an additional 160,390 shares during the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 29,366 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.20, for a total transaction of $3,764,721.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 115,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,765,306.80. This represents a 20.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AeroVironment Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of AVAV opened at $169.07 on Monday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $144.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $159.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 3.36 and a current ratio of 4.61. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 1 year low of $102.25 and a 1 year high of $236.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.77 billion, a PE ratio of 97.17 and a beta of 0.80.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVAV has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James raised AeroVironment from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of AeroVironment from $230.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $197.83.

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.