Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Reduces Position in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. trimmed its position in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 225,949 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 27,601 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.80% of AeroVironment worth $45,303,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in AeroVironment by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 55,500 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $8,507,000 after purchasing an additional 3,700 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 24.7% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 21,116 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,237,000 after acquiring an additional 4,186 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in AeroVironment by 11.8% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 5,467 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $838,000 after acquiring an additional 576 shares during the period. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in AeroVironment in the first quarter valued at $266,000. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its position in AeroVironment by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 8,212 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,259,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares during the period. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at AeroVironment

In other news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.22, for a total value of $77,703.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 18,254 shares in the company, valued at $3,581,799.88. The trade was a 2.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,782 shares of company stock worth $372,615. Corporate insiders own 1.27% of the company’s stock.

AeroVironment Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AVAV opened at $200.06 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 4.26, a quick ratio of 3.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $206.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $192.98. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 12-month low of $116.51 and a 12-month high of $236.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 93.92 and a beta of 0.49.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.28. AeroVironment had a return on equity of 9.87% and a net margin of 7.82%. The firm had revenue of $189.48 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $183.18 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.00 EPS. AeroVironment’s quarterly revenue was up 24.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price target on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Robert W. Baird upgraded AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $161.00 to $220.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Alembic Global Advisors raised AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $216.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on AeroVironment from $230.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $213.50.

AeroVironment 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.