Barclays PLC Buys 86,932 Shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Barclays PLC increased its stake in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 151.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 144,177 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 86,932 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC’s holdings in AeroVironment were worth $22,188,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 299.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,821 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,037,000 after acquiring an additional 3,614 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 333,193 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $51,275,000 after purchasing an additional 32,663 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new position in shares of AeroVironment in the fourth quarter worth about $404,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in AeroVironment by 415.7% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 198,975 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $30,620,000 after buying an additional 160,390 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in AeroVironment by 63.0% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 217,806 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $33,518,000 after buying an additional 84,170 shares in the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AeroVironment Stock Up 2.6 %

AeroVironment stock opened at $147.61 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $136.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $169.69. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 1-year low of $102.25 and a 1-year high of $236.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 84.83 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 4.61 and a quick ratio of 3.36.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 29,366 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.20, for a total value of $3,764,721.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 115,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,765,306.80. This represents a 20.32 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.27% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AVAV has been the topic of several research reports. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on AeroVironment from $220.00 to $146.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $230.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of AeroVironment from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $202.00.

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.