Blair William & Co. IL Purchases 22,099 Shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Key Points

• Blair William & Co. IL has increased its stake in AeroVironment, Inc. by 82.1%, acquiring an additional 22,099 shares, bringing its total to 49,000 shares valued at approximately $5.84 million.
• CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 17,300 shares of AeroVironment stock for over $4.5 million, reducing his ownership by 12.4%.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Buy" for AeroVironment, with a target price ranging from $225 to $325, reflecting positive market sentiment.

Blair William & Co. IL increased its position in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV - Free Report) by 82.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,000 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 22,099 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL owned 0.17% of AeroVironment worth $5,840,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AeroVironment in the 4th quarter worth approximately $279,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in AeroVironment by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,873 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $596,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 63.8% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,898 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,215,000 after acquiring an additional 3,077 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 654,024 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $100,670,000 after acquiring an additional 19,835 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 121.4% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 40,846 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $6,286,000 after acquiring an additional 22,393 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.38% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVAV has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Sunday, June 29th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $225.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Wedbush raised AeroVironment to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on AeroVironment in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $335.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $283.55.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AVAV traded down $12.16 on Friday, hitting $247.45. The stock had a trading volume of 1,093,469 shares, compared to its average volume of 836,524. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $235.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $180.19. The stock has a market cap of $12.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 159.65 and a beta of 0.99. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 52-week low of $102.25 and a 52-week high of $295.90. The company has a quick ratio of 2.69, a current ratio of 3.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 24th. The aerospace company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $275.05 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $242.69 million. AeroVironment had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 10.68%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 39.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.43 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 17,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.05, for a total transaction of $4,550,765.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 122,233 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,153,390.65. The trade was a 12.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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.