Northern Trust Corp Sells 6,440 Shares of AeroVironment, Inc. $AVAV

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp reduced its stake in AeroVironment by 2.1%, now holding 293,148 shares valued at approximately $34.94 million.
• Institutional investor interest is growing as Stephens Investment Management Group increased its position by 41%, owning 763,489 shares valued at $91 million.
• AeroVironment reported robust financial results, with earnings of $1.61 EPS for the quarter, exceeding analyst expectations and showing a 39.6% year-over-year revenue growth.

Northern Trust Corp lessened its position in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV - Free Report) by 2.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 293,148 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 6,440 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned about 1.04% of AeroVironment worth $34,940,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVAV. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new position in shares of AeroVironment in the 4th quarter valued at about $93,759,000. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC grew its holdings in AeroVironment by 41.0% during the 1st quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 763,489 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $91,000,000 after acquiring an additional 221,948 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the 1st quarter valued at $23,501,000. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of AeroVironment in the 1st quarter valued at $16,802,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of AeroVironment in the 4th quarter worth $17,158,000. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVAV has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on AeroVironment from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AeroVironment from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, June 22nd. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Sunday, June 29th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Citigroup began coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Monday, August 4th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their target price on AeroVironment from $225.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and fifteen have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $292.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AeroVironment news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 17,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.05, for a total value of $4,550,765.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 122,233 shares in the company, valued at $32,153,390.65. This trade represents a 12.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.81% of the company's stock.

AeroVironment Stock Down 4.8%

AVAV traded down $11.47 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $226.76. 1,220,595 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 673,571. The stock has a market cap of $11.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 146.30 and a beta of 1.02. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 1-year low of $102.25 and a 1-year high of $295.90. The stock's 50-day moving average is $254.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $189.54. 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 results on Tuesday, June 24th. The aerospace company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.20. AeroVironment had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 10.68%. The firm had revenue of $275.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $242.69 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.43 EPS. The company's revenue was up 39.6% compared to the same quarter last year. AeroVironment has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.800-3.000 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.