Stephens Investment Management Group LLC Purchases 154,703 Shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Stephens Investment Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 40.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 541,541 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 154,703 shares during the period. AeroVironment makes up approximately 1.1% of Stephens Investment Management Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC owned about 1.92% of AeroVironment worth $83,338,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AVAV. Radnor Capital Management LLC grew its position in AeroVironment by 1.0% during the third quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC now owns 5,965 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,196,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI increased its position in shares of AeroVironment by 23.1% in the third quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 400 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its stake in AeroVironment by 7.2% in the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 1,434 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $288,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake in AeroVironment by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 4,170 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $642,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of AeroVironment by 51.0% during the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 394 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

AeroVironment Price Performance

AVAV stock opened at $176.93 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.36, a current ratio of 4.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm has a market cap of $4.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 101.68 and a beta of 0.52. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $168.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $186.44. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 12-month low of $121.38 and a 12-month high of $236.60.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last released its 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). 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.97 EPS. On average, analysts expect that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AVAV. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the stock 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.20.

Insider Activity

In other AeroVironment news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 16,472 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,273,480.56. The trade was a 2.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.27% of the company’s stock.

AeroVironment 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.