Man Group plc Acquires 6,854 Shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Man Group plc raised its holdings in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV - Free Report) by 30.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,205 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 6,854 shares during the period. Man Group plc owned about 0.10% of AeroVironment worth $4,494,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,098,822 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $476,878,000 after buying an additional 35,543 shares in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its holdings in AeroVironment by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 2,135,280 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $328,598,000 after buying an additional 183,887 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in AeroVironment by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 654,024 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $100,670,000 after buying an additional 19,835 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new stake in AeroVironment during the fourth quarter worth about $93,759,000. Finally, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC increased its holdings in AeroVironment by 40.0% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 541,541 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $83,338,000 after buying an additional 154,703 shares during the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AeroVironment Price Performance

AVAV stock opened at $166.73 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $142.76 and a 200-day moving average of $161.17. The company has a current ratio of 4.61, a quick ratio of 3.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 12 month low of $102.25 and a 12 month high of $236.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 95.82 and a beta of 0.80.

Insider Activity

In other AeroVironment news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 29,366 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.20, for a total transaction of $3,764,721.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 115,174 shares in the company, valued at $14,765,306.80. The trade was a 20.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AVAV shares. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $220.00 to $146.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Raymond James upgraded shares of AeroVironment from a "market perform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $230.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $197.83.

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.

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