Portside Wealth Group LLC Grows Position in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Portside Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 4.3% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,741 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in AeroVironment were worth $208,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its holdings in AeroVironment by 9.0% in the first quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 363,316 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $43,304,000 after buying an additional 30,123 shares during the last quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 31.4% in the 1st quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC now owns 15,580 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,857,000 after acquiring an additional 3,725 shares during the period. Generali Investments Management Co LLC bought a new stake in AeroVironment in the 1st quarter valued at about $205,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in AeroVironment by 29.2% during the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,029 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $599,000 after purchasing an additional 1,136 shares during the period. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in AeroVironment during the 1st quarter valued at about $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVAV has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AeroVironment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $146.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $230.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Monday, May 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.50.

AeroVironment Trading Down 0.1%

NASDAQ:AVAV opened at $189.52 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $5.35 billion, a PE ratio of 108.92 and a beta of 0.81. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $102.25 and a fifty-two week high of $236.60. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $159.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $158.09.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 29,366 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.20, for a total value of $3,764,721.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 115,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,765,306.80. The trade was a 20.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.27% of the company’s stock.

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.