Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Grows Stock Position in AeroVironment, Inc. $AVAV

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management nearly doubled its AeroVironment stake in the fourth quarter, buying 9,675 additional shares and lifting its total holdings to 20,173 shares valued at about $5.17 million.
• Several other institutional investors also made small moves in AVAV, and overall hedge funds and institutions own 86.38% of the company’s shares.
• Analyst sentiment remains mostly positive despite recent cuts to price targets: the stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $318.78, while AeroVironment’s latest earnings missed estimates and its shares were trading near $166.45.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV - Free Report) by 92.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 20,173 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 9,675 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in AeroVironment were worth $5,168,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in AeroVironment by 60.0% in the third quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 80 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new stake in AeroVironment in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Tema Etfs LLC purchased a new stake in AeroVironment in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 100.0% in the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 80 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new position in shares of AeroVironment in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citizens Jmp cut their price objective on AeroVironment from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price objective on AeroVironment from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered AeroVironment from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on AeroVironment from $260.00 to $235.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Zacks Research raised AeroVironment from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $318.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.55, for a total transaction of $88,921.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 16,026 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,598,638.30. This trade represents a 2.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen F. Page sold 250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.29, for a total value of $49,322.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 49,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,766,052.29. This trade represents a 0.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 2,096 shares of company stock valued at $505,103 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.81% of the company's stock.

AeroVironment Stock Down 1.1%

AeroVironment stock opened at $166.45 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $8.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -38.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 52 week low of $158.30 and a 52 week high of $417.86. The business's 50-day moving average price is $198.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $260.30. The company has a quick ratio of 4.54, a current ratio of 5.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 10th. The aerospace company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $408.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $487.94 million. AeroVironment had a positive return on equity of 3.26% and a negative net margin of 13.93%.The firm's revenue was up 143.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.30 earnings per share. AeroVironment has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.750-3.100 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

AeroVironment Company Profile

AeroVironment, Inc NASDAQ: AVAV is a technology company specializing in unmanned aerial systems (UAS), tactical missiles and precision loitering munitions, electric vehicle charging and scalable energy systems. Headquartered in Monrovia, California, the company develops solutions for defense, public safety and commercial markets. Their offerings include small UAS for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, as well as advanced weapons systems designed to meet the needs of modern military operations.

The company's unmanned aerial systems portfolio features platforms such as the Raven, Puma and Switchblade series, which are deployed by the U.S.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AVAV? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.