Barclays PLC Boosts Stock Position in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 149.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 57,245 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 34,318 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC’s holdings in AeroVironment were worth $11,477,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Security National Bank purchased a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in AeroVironment during the second quarter worth about $36,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in AeroVironment during the third quarter worth about $62,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in AeroVironment by 51.0% in the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 394 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI grew its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 23.1% in the 3rd quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 400 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at AeroVironment

In other news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 878 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.54, for a total transaction of $184,854.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,658,343.04. The trade was a 4.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,782 shares of company stock valued at $373,609. 1.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

NASDAQ AVAV opened at $168.80 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $4.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 97.01 and a beta of 0.45. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 1-year low of $116.51 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. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $201.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $192.17.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

AVAV has been the topic of several analyst reports. Raymond James lowered shares of AeroVironment from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $240.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on AeroVironment from $230.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Baird R W raised shares of AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AeroVironment currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.20.

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.