Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Decreases Holdings in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 52.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,164 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 2,367 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in AeroVironment were worth $333,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,601 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $246,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. AWM Investment Company Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 15.4% in the fourth quarter. AWM Investment Company Inc. now owns 121,633 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $18,718,000 after purchasing an additional 16,199 shares during the last quarter. Washington Harbour Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Washington Harbour Partners LP now owns 22,044 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,392,000 after purchasing an additional 844 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 31.6% in the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 19,022 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,927,000 after purchasing an additional 4,573 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 108,265 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $16,660,000 after purchasing an additional 6,587 shares during the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at AeroVironment

In other news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 29,366 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.20, for a total transaction of $3,764,721.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVAV has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $220.00 to $146.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Raymond James raised AeroVironment from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $200.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Monday, May 12th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of AeroVironment from $230.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $197.83.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AVAV opened at $176.15 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 101.24 and a beta of 0.80. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $149.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $158.78. AeroVironment, Inc. has a twelve month low of $102.25 and a twelve month high of $236.60. The company has a quick ratio of 3.36, a current ratio of 4.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

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.