Prospera Private Wealth LLC Invests $1.38 Million in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 6,859 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $1,375,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AVAV. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in AeroVironment by 24.7% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 21,116 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $3,237,000 after acquiring an additional 4,186 shares in the last quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in AeroVironment during the first quarter worth $266,000. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its position in AeroVironment by 10.5% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 8,212 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,259,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its stake in AeroVironment by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 1,920 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $294,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in AeroVironment by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,094,831 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $474,376,000 after buying an additional 179,395 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.38% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AVAV has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Baird R W upgraded AeroVironment from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Raymond James lowered shares of AeroVironment from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $230.00 to $215.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of AeroVironment from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $216.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $245.00 price target on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $211.83.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

AVAV traded up $4.26 on Wednesday, reaching $199.15. The company had a trading volume of 359,211 shares, compared to its average volume of 338,882. The stock has a market cap of $5.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 91.50 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 3.04 and a current ratio of 4.26. AeroVironment, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $116.51 and a fifty-two week high of $236.60. The company's fifty day moving average is $206.75 and its 200 day moving average is $193.83.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.28. AeroVironment had a return on equity of 9.87% and a net margin of 7.82%. The company had revenue of $189.48 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $183.18 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.00 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 24.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.22, for a total transaction of $77,703.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,254 shares in the company, valued at $3,581,799.88. This represents a 2.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,782 shares of company stock valued at $372,615. 1.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.