Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 101 Shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its position in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,555 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 101 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in AeroVironment were worth $1,204,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in AeroVironment by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,860,954 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $319,082,000 after purchasing an additional 209,359 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC raised its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 106.9% in the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 556,853 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $62,106,000 after buying an additional 287,730 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of AeroVironment by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 492,766 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $54,958,000 after buying an additional 3,122 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA grew its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 304,460 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $33,956,000 after acquiring an additional 44,748 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in AeroVironment by 1.7% in 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. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on AVAV. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and set a $161.00 target price on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AeroVironment has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.20.

Insider Activity at AeroVironment

In other AeroVironment news, SVP Melissa Ann Brown sold 1,000 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,181,165.03. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related 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 value of $350,079.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $470,310. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Melissa Ann Brown sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,181,165.03. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AeroVironment Trading Up 1.0 %

AeroVironment stock opened at $181.46 on Thursday. 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’s 50 day moving average price is $154.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $135.24. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 1 year low of $88.24 and a 1 year high of $184.61. The stock has a market cap of $5.11 billion, a P/E ratio of -42.10 and a beta of 0.44.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $186.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarterly revenue was up 38.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.33 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 2.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.