Bank of America Corp DE Grows Position in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV - Free Report) by 17.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 45,272 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,589 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.16% of AeroVironment worth $6,967,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in AeroVironment by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 8,170 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,257,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in AeroVironment by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 17,618 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,711,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in AeroVironment by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 4,170 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $642,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc grew its holdings in AeroVironment by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 1,650 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $254,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in AeroVironment by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 14,879 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,290,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on AVAV. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Monday, May 12th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on AeroVironment from $220.00 to $146.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Raymond James upgraded AeroVironment from a "market perform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $200.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen cut AeroVironment from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on AeroVironment from $230.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AeroVironment currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $197.83.

AeroVironment Trading Up 2.1%

AVAV traded up $3.66 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $176.15. 1,091,942 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 422,233. The firm's fifty day moving average is $149.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $158.37. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 1-year low of $102.25 and a 1-year high of $236.60. The company has a current ratio of 4.61, a quick ratio of 3.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The company has a market cap of $4.97 billion, a PE ratio of 101.24 and a beta of 0.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AeroVironment news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 29,366 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.20, for a total value of $3,764,721.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 115,174 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,765,306.80. This trade represents a 20.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.