Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Makes New Investment in AeroVironment, Inc. $AVAV

Key Points

• Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new position in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV) by purchasing 910 shares worth approximately $259,000 during the second quarter.
• Multiple institutional investors increased their stakes in AeroVironment, with ORG Partners LLC growing its investment by 296% in the same quarter.
• Insider trading activity included sales by Trace E. Stevenson and CFO Kevin Patrick McDonnell, who both significantly reduced their ownership stakes in the company.

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new position in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 910 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $259,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 21.5% in the second quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 237 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 296.0% in the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 99 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 2.7% in the first quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,199 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $381,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 5.2% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,685 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $201,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RMG Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AeroVironment in the second quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.38% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Trace E. Stevenson sold 1,717 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $381.00, for a total transaction of $654,177.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 4,907 shares in the company, valued at $1,869,567. The trade was a 25.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 998 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $399.74, for a total transaction of $398,940.52. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 19,324 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,724,575.76. This trade represents a 4.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.81% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AeroVironment Price Performance

Shares of AVAV opened at $364.28 on Friday. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 1-year low of $102.25 and a 1-year high of $417.86. The stock has a market cap of $18.19 billion, a PE ratio of -569.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 5.96 and a quick ratio of 5.12. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $298.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $235.58.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 28th. The aerospace company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter. AeroVironment had a negative net margin of 4.14% and a positive return on equity of 4.67%. The firm had revenue of $132.62 million during the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on AVAV. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of AeroVironment from $305.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $300.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Sunday, June 29th. They set an "overweight" rating for the company. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. They set a "buy" rating and a $300.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $356.07.

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.

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