Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $22.65 Million Position in AeroVironment, Inc. $AVAV

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 60.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 71,936 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 110,705 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.14% of AeroVironment worth $22,652,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in AeroVironment by 60.0% in the third quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 80 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its holdings in AeroVironment by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 80 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new position in AeroVironment during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new position in shares of AeroVironment in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of AeroVironment in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. 86.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AeroVironment Trading Up 8.6%

NASDAQ:AVAV opened at $257.20 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 5.08 and a quick ratio of 4.29. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $286.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $294.43. AeroVironment, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $102.25 and a fifty-two week high of $417.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.84 billion, a PE ratio of -205.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.23.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, December 9th. The aerospace company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.43). The company had revenue of $472.51 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $466.16 million. AeroVironment had a positive return on equity of 3.42% and a negative net margin of 5.08%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 150.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.47 earnings per share. AeroVironment has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.400-3.550 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Brian Charles Shackley sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.92, for a total transaction of $50,184.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,504,014.48. This represents a 3.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen F. Page sold 1,000 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $377.62, for a total value of $377,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 51,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,258,997.62. This represents a 1.92% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 3,223 shares of company stock worth $1,092,503 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AVAV. Zacks Research raised shares of AeroVironment from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $400.00 target price on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price target on AeroVironment from $335.00 to $315.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on AeroVironment in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $355.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AeroVironment currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $378.06.

AeroVironment Profile

AeroVironment, Inc (NASDAQ:AVAV) is a technology company specializing in unmanned aerial systems (UAS), tactical missiles and precision loitering munitions, electric vehicle charging and scalable energy systems. Headquartered in Monrovia, California, the company develops solutions for defense, public safety and commercial markets. Their offerings include small UAS for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, as well as advanced weapons systems designed to meet the needs of modern military operations.

The company’s unmanned aerial systems portfolio features platforms such as the Raven, Puma and Switchblade series, which are deployed by the U.S.