1,508 Shares in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) Bought by Crescent Grove Advisors LLC

Crescent Grove Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 1,508 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $232,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AVAV. Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 29.1% during the third quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 1,951,393 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $391,254,000 after buying an additional 439,717 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of AeroVironment by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,582,871 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $317,366,000 after acquiring an additional 7,471 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in AeroVironment by 0.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 634,189 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $127,180,000 after purchasing an additional 4,948 shares in the last quarter. Heard Capital LLC raised its holdings in AeroVironment by 25.5% in the third quarter. Heard Capital LLC now owns 592,136 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $118,723,000 after purchasing an additional 120,447 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of AeroVironment by 155.1% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 321,479 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $64,457,000 after buying an additional 195,443 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on AVAV. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $240.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.20.

AeroVironment Price Performance

Shares of AVAV opened at $180.36 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $171.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $186.00. The stock has a market cap of $5.09 billion, a PE ratio of 103.66 and a beta of 0.50. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 1-year low of $119.46 and a 1-year high of $236.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 4.61 and a quick ratio of 3.36.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.29). The company had revenue of $188.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $181.80 million. AeroVironment had a net margin of 6.39% and a return on equity of 8.12%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.97 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.73, for a total value of $78,697.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,472 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,273,480.56. This represents a 2.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.