Van ECK Associates Corp Has $27.03 Million Stock Position in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 23.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 175,649 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 32,916 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 0.62% of AeroVironment worth $27,031,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AVAV. Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its position in AeroVironment by 29.1% during the 3rd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 1,951,393 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $391,254,000 after buying an additional 439,717 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of AeroVironment by 19,950.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 267,066 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $53,547,000 after acquiring an additional 265,734 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of AeroVironment by 155.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 321,479 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $64,457,000 after acquiring an additional 195,443 shares during the period. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of AeroVironment by 40.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 154,703 shares during the period. Finally, Heard Capital LLC raised its position in shares of AeroVironment by 25.5% in the 3rd quarter. Heard Capital LLC now owns 592,136 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $118,723,000 after acquiring an additional 120,447 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AVAV. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price target for the company from $240.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.20.

Insider Transactions at AeroVironment

In other news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.73, for a total transaction of $78,697.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,472 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,273,480.56. This trade represents a 2.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.27% of the company’s stock.

AeroVironment Price Performance

NASDAQ AVAV opened at $156.99 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $166.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $186.24. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 52-week low of $121.38 and a 52-week high of $236.60. 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 stock has a market cap of $4.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 90.22 and a beta of 0.52.

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

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.