Van ECK Associates Corp Has $27.03 Million Holdings in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 23.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 175,649 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,916 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in AeroVironment were worth $27,031,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Leavell Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 21.8% in the 4th quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,350 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $362,000 after buying an additional 421 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR boosted its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 23.0% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 2,267 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $349,000 after buying an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 40.0% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 541,541 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $83,338,000 after buying an additional 154,703 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 1,515.4% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 210 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AeroVironment in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

AeroVironment Stock Down 2.7 %

AVAV opened at $156.99 on Friday. AeroVironment, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $121.38 and a fifty-two week high of $236.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 3.36 and a current ratio of 4.61. The company has a market capitalization of $4.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 90.22 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $166.63 and a 200-day moving average of $186.24.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last posted its 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 return on equity of 8.12% and a net margin of 6.39%. The firm had revenue of $188.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $181.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.97 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at AeroVironment

In related news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.73, for a total value of $78,697.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 16,472 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,273,480.56. This trade represents a 2.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.27% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $225.20.

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.