Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Invests $968,000 in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 8,125 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $968,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Redwood Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Redwood Investments LLC now owns 9,273 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,427,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 8,170 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,257,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,741 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $208,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,601 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 17,618 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,711,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AeroVironment Trading Up 2.6%

AeroVironment stock traded up $4.98 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $195.10. The stock had a trading volume of 772,149 shares, compared to its average volume of 440,880. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $162.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $157.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.51 billion, a PE ratio of 112.13 and a beta of 0.81. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 12 month low of $102.25 and a 12 month 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.

Insider Activity at AeroVironment

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

AVAV has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded AeroVironment from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on AeroVironment from $146.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on AeroVironment from $230.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded AeroVironment from a "market perform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $208.50.

AeroVironment Company 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.