Congress Asset Management Co. Has $60.26 Million Stock Holdings in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Congress Asset Management Co. decreased its position in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 300,530 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 49,566 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co.’s holdings in AeroVironment were worth $60,256,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Security National Bank bought a new position in shares of AeroVironment in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in AeroVironment during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. NBC Securities Inc. grew its stake in AeroVironment by 47.4% in the third quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 432 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $95,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 32.2% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 603 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AVAV traded down $0.63 on Thursday, hitting $215.97. The company had a trading volume of 41,312 shares, compared to its average volume of 335,147. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 1-year low of $112.67 and a 1-year high of $227.18. The stock has a market cap of $6.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 101.69 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $199.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $187.81. The company has a current ratio of 4.26, a quick ratio of 3.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.28. The business 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%. AeroVironment’s revenue was up 24.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.00 earnings per share. Analysts expect that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.36 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 target price on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $161.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $216.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $230.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Baird R W raised 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, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $208.20.

Insider Activity at AeroVironment

In other AeroVironment news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 878 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.54, for a total transaction of $184,854.12. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 17,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,658,343.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.27% of the stock is owned by 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.