GDS Wealth Management Purchases 6,948 Shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

GDS Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 327.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,071 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,948 shares during the period. GDS Wealth Management’s holdings in AeroVironment were worth $1,396,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Radnor Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in AeroVironment by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC now owns 5,965 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,196,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI increased its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 23.1% in the third quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 400 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 7.2% in the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 1,434 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $288,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 4,170 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $642,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 51.0% in the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 394 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

AeroVironment Stock Down 4.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AVAV opened at $172.98 on Tuesday. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 52-week low of $119.54 and a 52-week high of $236.60. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $169.01 and a 200 day moving average of $186.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.88 billion, a PE ratio of 99.41 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 3.36 and a current ratio of 4.61.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at AeroVironment

In other AeroVironment news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.73, for a total transaction 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 $3,273,480.56. This represents a 2.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.27% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $240.00 to $230.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.20.

AeroVironment 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.