Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 20.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,324 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 334 shares during the period. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in AeroVironment were worth $204,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its holdings in AeroVironment by 29.1% during the third quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 1,951,393 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $391,254,000 after purchasing an additional 439,717 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 19,950.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 267,066 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $53,547,000 after buying an additional 265,734 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted 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 worth $64,457,000 after buying an additional 195,443 shares in the last quarter. Heard Capital LLC grew its stake in 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 last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in AeroVironment by 108.4% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 180,824 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $36,255,000 after acquiring an additional 94,062 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

Shares of AVAV opened at $171.28 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 98.44 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 3.36 and a current ratio of 4.61. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 1 year low of $119.46 and a 1 year high of $236.60. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $170.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $185.92.

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

Insider Activity

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVAV has been the topic of several recent research reports. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $240.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AeroVironment currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.20.

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.