Moody National Bank Trust Division Increases Stock Position in AeroVironment, Inc. $AVAV

Moody National Bank Trust Division boosted its holdings in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 87.7% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 7,373 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 3,444 shares during the period. Moody National Bank Trust Division’s holdings in AeroVironment were worth $1,217,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AeroVironment in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the first quarter valued at $28,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its position in shares of AeroVironment by 90.0% during the fourth quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 133 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its position in shares of AeroVironment by 73.8% during the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 139 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at AeroVironment

In other news, Director Stephen F. Page sold 250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.41, for a total value of $43,602.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 49,001 shares in the company, valued at $8,546,264.41. This represents a 0.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.81% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on AVAV shares. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Monday, June 8th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $248.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded shares of AeroVironment from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $210.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $266.68.

AeroVironment Stock Down 0.6%

AeroVironment stock opened at $168.06 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $8.51 billion, a PE ratio of -45.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 3.59 and a current ratio of 4.30. AeroVironment, Inc. has a one year low of $135.20 and a one year high of $417.86. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $164.46 and a 200 day moving average of $201.62.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last posted its earnings results on Monday, June 29th. The aerospace company reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.37. The company had revenue of $641.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $555.97 million. AeroVironment had a positive return on equity of 3.71% and a negative net margin of 9.00%.AeroVironment’s revenue was up 133.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.61 earnings per share. AeroVironment has set its FY 2027 guidance at 3.020-3.340 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.26 EPS for the current year.

AeroVironment Company Profile

AeroVironment, Inc (NASDAQ:AVAV) is a technology company specializing in unmanned aerial systems (UAS), tactical missiles and precision loitering munitions, electric vehicle charging and scalable energy systems. Headquartered in Monrovia, California, the company develops solutions for defense, public safety and commercial markets. Their offerings include small UAS for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, as well as advanced weapons systems designed to meet the needs of modern military operations.

The company’s unmanned aerial systems portfolio features platforms such as the Raven, Puma and Switchblade series, which are deployed by the U.S.