DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main Increases Holdings in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its holdings in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 236.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 25,030 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,594 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main owned 0.09% of AeroVironment worth $3,852,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in AeroVironment by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,098,822 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $476,878,000 after purchasing an additional 35,543 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its position in shares of AeroVironment by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 2,135,280 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $328,598,000 after buying an additional 183,887 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 654,024 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $100,670,000 after acquiring an additional 19,835 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new position in AeroVironment during the 4th quarter valued at about $93,759,000. Finally, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC boosted its stake in AeroVironment by 40.0% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 541,541 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $83,338,000 after acquiring an additional 154,703 shares in the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AVAV. Raymond James upgraded shares of AeroVironment from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $200.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on AeroVironment from $230.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of AeroVironment from $220.00 to $146.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AeroVironment currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $202.00.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AVAV opened at $165.78 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $136.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $163.69. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 52-week low of $102.25 and a 52-week high of $236.60. The company has a market cap of $4.68 billion, a PE ratio of 95.28 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 3.36, a current ratio of 4.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 29,366 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.20, for a total transaction of $3,764,721.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 115,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,765,306.80. This represents a 20.32 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AeroVironment Company Profile

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.