Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Buys 1,136 Shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 29.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,029 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 1,136 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in AeroVironment were worth $599,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in AeroVironment by 3,080.0% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 318 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. bought a new position in shares of AeroVironment in the 4th quarter worth $333,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in AeroVironment in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in AeroVironment by 1,515.4% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 210 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC increased its stake in AeroVironment by 40.0% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 541,541 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $83,338,000 after purchasing an additional 154,703 shares in the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AeroVironment Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of AVAV stock opened at $190.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 3.36 and a current ratio of 4.61. The company has a market capitalization of $5.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 109.71 and a beta of 0.81. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 52-week low of $102.25 and a 52-week high of $236.60. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $155.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $157.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at AeroVironment

In other AeroVironment news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 29,366 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.20, for a total value of $3,764,721.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 115,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,765,306.80. The trade was a 20.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on AVAV. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of AeroVironment from $230.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Raymond James upgraded AeroVironment from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $200.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen raised AeroVironment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on AeroVironment from $146.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $208.50.

About AeroVironment

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.