Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 1,208 Shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans reduced its position in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 5.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,000 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,208 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.08% of AeroVironment worth $4,411,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Security National Bank purchased a new stake in AeroVironment during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in AeroVironment in the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI lifted its stake in AeroVironment by 23.1% in the third quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 400 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of AeroVironment by 47.4% during the third quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 432 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the second quarter valued at approximately $95,000. 86.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

AVAV stock opened at $195.91 on Monday. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 1-year low of $116.51 and a 1-year high of $236.60. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $207.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $194.16. The company has a market capitalization of $5.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 91.98 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 4.26 and a quick ratio of 3.04.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last announced its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $183.18 million. AeroVironment had a net margin of 7.82% and a return on equity of 9.87%. The company’s revenue was up 24.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.00 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at AeroVironment

In other news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 508 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.65, for a total value of $110,058.20. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 16,868 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,654,452.20. The trade was a 2.92 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,782 shares of company stock valued at $372,615. Corporate insiders own 1.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AVAV. Raymond James lowered AeroVironment from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 target price on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $240.00 to $230.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $230.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised shares of AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $161.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AeroVironment currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $211.83.

AeroVironment Company Profile

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.