AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) Shares Sold by Schnieders Capital Management LLC

Schnieders Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 18.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,550 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 350 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC’s holdings in AeroVironment were worth $239,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of AeroVironment by 299.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,821 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,037,000 after purchasing an additional 3,614 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its position in shares of AeroVironment by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 333,193 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $51,275,000 after acquiring an additional 32,663 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. acquired a new position in shares of AeroVironment in the 4th quarter valued at $333,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of AeroVironment by 22.7% in the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,893 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $599,000 after acquiring an additional 721 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of AeroVironment by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 136,652 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $21,029,000 after acquiring an additional 4,107 shares during the period. 86.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AeroVironment Price Performance

NASDAQ:AVAV opened at $153.65 on Thursday. AeroVironment, Inc. has a one year low of $125.44 and a one year 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 firm has a market cap of $4.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 88.30 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $166.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $185.42.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.29). AeroVironment had a net margin of 6.39% and a return on equity of 8.12%. The business had revenue of $188.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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. Research analysts expect that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AeroVironment

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVAV has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their target price for the company from $240.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.20.

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.