AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) Stock Position Increased by Geode Capital Management LLC

Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 654,024 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,835 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 2.32% of AeroVironment worth $100,670,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of AeroVironment by 63.8% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,898 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,215,000 after buying an additional 3,077 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its position in shares of AeroVironment by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,873 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $596,000 after buying an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the 4th quarter worth about $250,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the 4th quarter worth about $37,502,000. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL raised its position in shares of AeroVironment by 160.5% during the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 26,901 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,140,000 after buying an additional 16,576 shares in the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 29,366 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.20, for a total transaction of $3,764,721.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 115,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,765,306.80. The trade was a 20.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AVAV shares. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $220.00 to $146.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Raymond James upgraded shares of AeroVironment from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $200.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $230.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, AeroVironment presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $202.00.

AeroVironment Price Performance

Shares of AeroVironment stock opened at $137.72 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $141.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $172.45. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $102.25 and a 1-year high of $236.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.15 and a beta of 0.74.

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.