Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Invests $314,000 in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC bought a new position in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 2,495 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $314,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AVAV. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in AeroVironment by 84.0% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 15,416 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,943,000 after purchasing an additional 7,039 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of AeroVironment in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Cornerstone Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in AeroVironment during the 4th quarter worth $203,000. Kovack Advisors Inc. lifted its position in AeroVironment by 118.0% in the fourth quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 5,172 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $652,000 after acquiring an additional 2,799 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Semanteon Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the fourth quarter worth about $536,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at AeroVironment

In other news, VP Trace E. Stevenson sold 1,913 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.00, for a total value of $350,079.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,570 shares in the company, valued at $470,310. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Melissa Ann Brown sold 1,000 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.77, for a total transaction of $176,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,181,165.03. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Trace E. Stevenson sold 1,913 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.00, for a total transaction of $350,079.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $470,310. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $161.00 target price on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Friday, March 8th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AeroVironment currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.20.

AeroVironment Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AVAV opened at $181.46 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 3.16 and a current ratio of 4.66. The company’s fifty day moving average is $154.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $135.24. AeroVironment, Inc. has a one year low of $88.24 and a one year high of $184.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.11 billion, a P/E ratio of -42.10 and a beta of 0.44.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $186.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $170.62 million. AeroVironment had a positive return on equity of 13.93% and a negative net margin of 15.14%. AeroVironment’s revenue was up 38.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.33 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 2.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.