Leavell Investment Management Inc. Has $362,000 Stock Position in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Leavell Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 21.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,350 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 421 shares during the quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in AeroVironment were worth $362,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AVAV. Ritholtz Wealth Management bought a new position in AeroVironment during the third quarter worth about $248,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in AeroVironment by 4.2% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 4,065 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $815,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. grew its holdings in AeroVironment by 47.4% during the third quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 432 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC bought a new position in AeroVironment during the third quarter worth about $241,000. Finally, IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd bought a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the third quarter worth approximately $219,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVAV has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $240.00 to $230.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. 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 MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $225.20.

AeroVironment Stock Down 2.7 %

NASDAQ AVAV opened at $156.99 on Friday. 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 $121.38 and a 1-year high of $236.60. The company has a 50 day moving average of $166.63 and a 200-day moving average of $186.24. The company has a market cap of $4.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 90.22 and a beta of 0.52.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at AeroVironment

In other news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.73, for a total transaction of $78,697.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,472 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,273,480.56. This represents a 2.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.27% of the company’s stock.

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.