Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Acquires 5,652 Shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV - Free Report) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 237,477 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 5,652 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.84% of AeroVironment worth $29,932,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bfsg LLC bought a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. RiverPark Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 77.2% during the fourth quarter. RiverPark Advisors LLC now owns 388 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC bought a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $69,000. 86.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

AeroVironment Trading Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ AVAV traded up $1.03 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $197.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 210,468 shares, compared to its average volume of 331,338. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $162.51 and a 200 day moving average of $140.93. AeroVironment, Inc. has a twelve month low of $88.24 and a twelve month high of $200.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.55 billion, a P/E ratio of -45.76 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 3.16, a current ratio of 4.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on AVAV shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of AeroVironment from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $161.00 price objective on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Friday, March 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AeroVironment currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $140.20.

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.