Oak Ridge Investments LLC Has $1.48 Million Stock Position in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Oak Ridge Investments LLC lessened its position in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,586 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 317 shares during the quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC’s holdings in AeroVironment were worth $1,475,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 299.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,821 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,037,000 after buying an additional 3,614 shares in the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in AeroVironment by 120.6% during the second quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 136,603 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $24,884,000 after purchasing an additional 74,672 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in AeroVironment during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,179,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AeroVironment in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $271,000. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC lifted its position in shares of AeroVironment by 85.0% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 4,395 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $881,000 after buying an additional 2,019 shares during the period. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AeroVironment Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ AVAV opened at $168.74 on Friday. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 1-year low of $119.46 and a 1-year high of $236.60. The company has a 50-day moving average of $175.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $185.66. The company has a market cap of $4.76 billion, a PE ratio of 96.98 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 4.61, a quick ratio of 3.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.29). The firm had revenue of $188.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $181.80 million. AeroVironment had a return on equity of 8.12% and a net margin of 6.39%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.97 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on AVAV shares. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $240.00 to $230.00 in a research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, AeroVironment currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $225.20.

Insider Activity at AeroVironment

In other AeroVironment news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.73, for a total value of $78,697.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,472 shares of the company’s stock, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.27% of the stock is 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.