AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) Shares Sold by ClariVest Asset Management LLC

ClariVest Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 11.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,655 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 2,814 shares during the quarter. ClariVest Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.08% of AeroVironment worth $3,945,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of AeroVironment by 6.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,094,831 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $474,376,000 after buying an additional 179,395 shares during the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its stake in AeroVironment by 132.7% during the 2nd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 1,511,676 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $275,367,000 after acquiring an additional 861,962 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA raised its holdings in AeroVironment by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 350,733 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $53,760,000 after acquiring an additional 28,288 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in AeroVironment by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 237,477 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $29,932,000 after purchasing an additional 5,652 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 187.5% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 221,749 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $27,949,000 after purchasing an additional 144,628 shares during the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird upgraded AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $161.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $230.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Alembic Global Advisors raised shares of AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $216.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $255.00 price target for the company. Finally, Baird R W upgraded AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. One research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AeroVironment presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $210.20.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

NASDAQ AVAV opened at $180.71 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $5.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 81.40 and a beta of 0.50. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 1-year low of $104.67 and a 1-year high of $224.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 4.26 and a quick ratio of 3.04. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $178.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $174.26.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $189.48 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $183.18 million. AeroVironment had a net margin of 7.82% and a return on equity of 9.87%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.00 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.44 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at AeroVironment

In other AeroVironment news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 511 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.45, for a total value of $91,187.95. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 21,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,807,052.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 9,867 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.23, for a total transaction of $1,669,792.41. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 99,892 shares in the company, valued at $16,904,723.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 511 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.45, for a total value of $91,187.95. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 21,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,807,052.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,287 shares of company stock valued at $1,928,305 over the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is 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.