AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. reduced its stake in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV - Free Report) by 12.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 378,568 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 53,313 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned about 1.35% of AeroVironment worth $47,715,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,664,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in AeroVironment during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $278,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in AeroVironment by 1,593.4% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 20,423 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,574,000 after buying an additional 19,217 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in AeroVironment in the 4th quarter worth approximately $20,287,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 288,155 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $36,319,000 after acquiring an additional 4,728 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.38% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AeroVironment news, VP Trace E. Stevenson sold 1,913 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.00, for a total transaction of $350,079.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $470,310. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Melissa Ann Brown sold 1,000 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.77, for a total value of $176,770.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,181,165.03. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Trace E. Stevenson sold 1,913 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.00, for a total value of $350,079.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,570 shares of the company's stock, valued at $470,310. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AeroVironment Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AVAV traded up $3.32 during trading on Friday, reaching $150.02. 376,508 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 221,490. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 4.66 and a quick ratio of 3.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.22 billion, a PE ratio of -34.81 and a beta of 0.44. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $144.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $130.39. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 12-month low of $88.24 and a 12-month high of $184.61.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.30. AeroVironment had a positive return on equity of 13.93% and a negative net margin of 15.14%. The company had revenue of $186.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.62 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.33 EPS. AeroVironment's quarterly revenue was up 38.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 2.8 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $161.00 target price on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Friday, March 8th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AeroVironment presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $140.20.

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.