UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Sells 4,872 Shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC trimmed its holdings in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV - Free Report) by 3.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 132,746 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 4,872 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned approximately 0.47% of AeroVironment worth $26,616,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its position in shares of AeroVironment by 29.1% in the third quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 1,951,393 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $391,254,000 after purchasing an additional 439,717 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in AeroVironment by 19,950.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 267,066 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $53,547,000 after purchasing an additional 265,734 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of AeroVironment by 4.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 256,688 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $51,466,000 after buying an additional 9,921 shares during the period. Emerald Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 10.2% in the third quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 217,666 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $43,642,000 after buying an additional 20,207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of AeroVironment by 108.4% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 180,824 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $36,255,000 after acquiring an additional 94,062 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.38% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on AVAV shares. Baird R W upgraded shares of AeroVironment from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Thursday. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating and issued a $245.00 target price on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Alembic Global Advisors raised AeroVironment from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $216.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised AeroVironment from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $240.00 to $230.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $211.83.

AeroVironment Trading Down 15.9 %

Shares of AVAV traded down $31.21 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $165.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,780,728 shares, compared to its average volume of 349,761. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 52 week low of $116.51 and a 52 week high of $236.60. The stock has a market cap of $4.67 billion, a PE ratio of 80.92 and a beta of 0.45. The company's fifty day moving average price is $208.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $194.37. The company has a current ratio of 4.26, a quick ratio of 3.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 9.87% and a net margin of 7.82%. The company had revenue of $188.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $181.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.97 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, 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 878 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.54, for a total transaction of $184,854.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,376 shares in the company, valued at $3,658,343.04. This represents a 4.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,782 shares of company stock valued at $373,609. 1.27% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.