Blair William & Co. IL Has $5.84 Million Stock Holdings in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Blair William & Co. IL boosted its position in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 82.1% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 49,000 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 22,099 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in AeroVironment were worth $5,840,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AVAV. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 120.2% in the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 185 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Colonial Trust Advisors bought a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in AeroVironment in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in AeroVironment by 171.1% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 244 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spirit of America Management Corp NY bought a new position in AeroVironment in the first quarter valued at about $36,000. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on AVAV. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Sunday, June 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. JMP Securities started coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Monday. They set a “market outperform” rating and a $325.00 target price on the stock. Finally, BTIG Research upped their price target on shares of AeroVironment from $225.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AeroVironment currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.55.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 17,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.05, for a total value of $4,550,765.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 122,233 shares in the company, valued at $32,153,390.65. This represents a 12.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AeroVironment Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AVAV opened at $263.10 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a current ratio of 3.52. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 52 week low of $102.25 and a 52 week high of $295.90. The firm has a market cap of $12.98 billion, a PE ratio of 169.74 and a beta of 0.99. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $233.50 and its 200-day moving average is $179.56.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, June 24th. The aerospace company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.20. AeroVironment had a return on equity of 10.68% and a net margin of 5.32%. The business had revenue of $275.05 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $242.69 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.43 EPS. AeroVironment’s revenue for the quarter was up 39.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current 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.