Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Boosts Stock Position in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV - Free Report) by 14.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,409 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,601 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC owned 0.07% of AeroVironment worth $3,141,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. American Century Companies Inc. bought a new position in AeroVironment in the 2nd quarter worth about $206,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 3.1% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 15,758 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,870,000 after buying an additional 470 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC bought a new position in shares of AeroVironment in the second quarter valued at approximately $516,000. Creative Planning grew its stake in AeroVironment by 203.1% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 4,077 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $743,000 after acquiring an additional 2,732 shares in the last quarter. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in AeroVironment during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $315,000. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

AeroVironment Price Performance

Shares of AeroVironment stock traded up $13.14 on Tuesday, hitting $186.12. 550,917 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 350,473. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 12-month low of $119.54 and a 12-month high of $236.60. The company has a current ratio of 4.61, a quick ratio of 3.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The company has a market cap of $5.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 106.97 and a beta of 0.52. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $168.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $186.33.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.29). AeroVironment had a net margin of 6.39% and a return on equity of 8.12%. The firm had revenue of $188.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $181.80 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.97 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AeroVironment news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.73, for a total value of $78,697.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,472 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,273,480.56. The trade was a 2.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.