Teacher Retirement System of Texas Makes New Investment in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 4,123 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $491,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AVAV. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its stake in AeroVironment by 120.2% during the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 185 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 171.1% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 244 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Colonial Trust Advisors bought a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in AeroVironment in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Spirit of America Management Corp NY acquired a new position in AeroVironment in the first quarter worth about $36,000. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

AeroVironment stock opened at $268.92 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $13.27 billion, a PE ratio of 173.50 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 1 year low of $102.25 and a 1 year high of $295.90. The company’s 50-day moving average is $203.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $168.48.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 24th. The aerospace company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.20. AeroVironment had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 10.68%. The business had revenue of $275.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $242.69 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.43 earnings per share. AeroVironment’s revenue was up 39.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Sunday, June 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded AeroVironment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 22nd. William Blair began coverage on AeroVironment in a research note on Sunday, June 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of AeroVironment from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, BTIG Research upped their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $225.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $265.22.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AeroVironment news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 17,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.05, for a total value of $4,550,765.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 122,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,153,390.65. This represents a 12.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.27% of the company’s stock.

About AeroVironment

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.